Headlands Technologies LLC Increases Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 59.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,781 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 665 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 63.8% in the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 113 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 2,178 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 2,192 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,239,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 51.3% in the 3rd quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,033 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,843,000 after buying an additional 1,707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Financial LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Clarity Financial LLC now owns 27,357 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $15,455,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $729.18 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $476.75 and a 12-month high of $787.08. The company has a market cap of $323.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.77. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $730.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $666.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. 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. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Gordon Haskett lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

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.