Winthrop Advisory Group LLC Buys 34 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Winthrop Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 749 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $549,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.1 %

COST traded down $0.63 during trading on Friday, hitting $849.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,131,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,840,321. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $524.63 and a twelve month high of $873.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $801.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $739.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $376.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.66, a PEG ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.79.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Gordon Haskett cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $875.00 price target (up from $800.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $756.85.

About Costco Wholesale

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.