Tsfg LLC Boosts Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Tsfg LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 17.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 834 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $611,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,360,168 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,640,940,000 after purchasing an additional 485,051 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $3,628,694,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,539,245 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,336,198,000 after purchasing an additional 132,292 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,794,480 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,844,581,000 after purchasing an additional 85,398 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

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

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $849.99 on Friday. 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 $524.63 and a 52 week high of $873.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $376.83 billion, a PE ratio of 52.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $801.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $739.18.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 company posted $3.43 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on COST shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $860.00 to $890.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $700.00 to $765.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $875.00 price objective (up previously from $800.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $756.85.

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.