Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Has $3.84 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 43.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,187 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. United Bank raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,285,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.3% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 320,108 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $283,782,000 after purchasing an additional 7,162 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,252,274,000 after purchasing an additional 324,973 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 182.1% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 4.5% in the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,133 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,777,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $930.26 on Wednesday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $987.84 and a 200-day moving average of $946.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $412.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.62, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $697.27 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective 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. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,029.00.

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.