Wayfinding Financial LLC Takes Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,545 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,164,000. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 2.2% of Wayfinding Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on COST. Barclays increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.0 %

COST stock opened at $895.40 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $697.27 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $988.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $944.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $397.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.58, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 27.09%.

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.