Cwm LLC Boosts Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Cwm LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 13.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,822 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,867 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $35,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Glenview Trust co increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 7,019 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,965,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 324,637 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $183,396,000 after acquiring an additional 21,038 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $208,000. TFB Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 816 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Provence Wealth Management Group increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group now owns 1,239 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $700,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $870.75 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $386.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.95, a PEG ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50 day moving average is $783.19 and its 200 day moving average is $728.16. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $516.54 and a 12-month high of $873.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.43 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were 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 through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on COST. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 2nd. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $940.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $751.85.

Costco Wholesale 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.