Triumph Capital Management Buys New Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 395 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $267,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 482,032 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $318,180,000 after purchasing an additional 10,064 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 4,041 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,667,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. One Day In July LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. One Day In July LLC now owns 571 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,641 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beck Bode LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Beck Bode LLC now owns 14,178 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,358,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $722.22 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $320.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.23, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $730.38 and its 200 day moving average is $670.09. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on COST. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $694.48.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.