Delta Asset Management LLC TN Buys 59 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Delta Asset Management LLC TN lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,292 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Delta Asset Management LLC TN’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 194.0% in the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 13,404 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,573,000 after buying an additional 8,845 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 5.2% in the third quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,684 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $951,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 7,259 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,101,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Fiducient Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth about $937,000. Finally, D.B. Root & Company LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 3,524 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,991,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Loop Capital dropped 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. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $696.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:COST traded up $0.93 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $801.86. 1,178,997 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,978,616. The stock has a market cap of $355.62 billion, a PE ratio of 52.66, a PEG ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $476.75 and a twelve month high of $806.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $738.35 and a 200 day moving average of $692.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

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.