Financial Management Professionals Inc. Has $359,000 Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Financial Management Professionals Inc. lowered its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 490 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 23 shares during the quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 28,855 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,302,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 272,288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $179,822,000 after acquiring an additional 61,122 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 21,514 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $14,201,000 after purchasing an additional 2,909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strong Tower Advisory Services grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.9% in the first quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other 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 value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $801.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $739.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $376.83 billion, a PE ratio of 52.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.79. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $524.63 and a 12-month high of $873.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.43 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $860.00 to $890.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 2nd. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.