RiverFront Investment Group LLC Grows Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

RiverFront Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 10.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 832 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $762,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $929.66 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 moving average is $988.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $946.54. The company has a market cap of $412.47 billion, a PE ratio of 54.59, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on COST. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.