Kimelman & Baird LLC Buys New Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 65,305 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $55,508,000. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 4.6% of Kimelman & Baird LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Vima LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $48,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Melius Research began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $881.19.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $885.62 on Monday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $870.67 and a 200-day moving average of $817.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $392.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.87, a PEG ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $540.23 and a 12 month high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.86 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 16.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.