Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.

Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,557 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 194.0% in the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 13,404 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,573,000 after purchasing an additional 8,845 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 2,633 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,487,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,564 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,838,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 16,558 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,355,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth about $157,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST traded up $13.39 on Friday, reaching $809.73. 1,622,970 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,621,363. The firm has a market cap of $359.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.96, a P/E/G ratio of 5.39 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $816.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $742.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $696.37.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Gordon Haskett lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, May 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $696.88.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.