Echo45 Advisors LLC Purchases 34 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Echo45 Advisors LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 722 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.5% of Echo45 Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Echo45 Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stanich Group LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $214,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares during the period. RW Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. RW Investment Management LLC now owns 5,624 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,153,000 after buying an additional 989 shares during the period. AMJ Financial Wealth Management raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management now owns 10,536 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,654,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, Marks Group Wealth Management Inc raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 1,002 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $918,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST opened at $996.78 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $996.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $980.41. The company has a market capitalization of $442.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.53, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,035.32.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,825,205. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.