Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,124 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 16 shares during the quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. United Bank lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.2% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 5,254 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,026,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 33.6% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 383,691 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $220,948,000 after acquiring an additional 96,566 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 87.1% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at $333,000. Finally, Next Century Growth Investors LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the first quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 3,414 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,965,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,727 shares of company stock worth $8,170,388 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST traded down $3.28 on Friday, reaching $707.97. The company had a trading volume of 1,159,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,085,476. The company has a fifty day moving average of $730.57 and a 200-day moving average of $659.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market capitalization of $313.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.30, a PEG ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $476.75 and a one year high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released 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 return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Gordon Haskett cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $691.28.

Costco Wholesale Profile

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.