Financial Security Advisor Inc. Has $573,000 Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Financial Security Advisor Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 14.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 781 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Financial Security Advisor Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COST. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 4.7% during 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 period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 272,288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $179,822,000 after purchasing an additional 61,122 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 15.6% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, Strong Tower Advisory Services grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $859.36 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $524.63 and a one year high of $873.96. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $804.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $742.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $380.98 billion, a PE ratio of 53.24, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The business 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 last year, the firm earned $3.43 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $875.00 price target (up from $800.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective 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. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 target price (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $758.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.