2,025 Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Bought by Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc.

Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,025 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,337,000. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.0% of Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $875.00 price target (up previously from $800.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $751.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $867.91 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $516.54 and a 52 week high of $870.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $384.77 billion, a PE ratio of 53.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $777.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $725.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

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.