Founders Financial Alliance LLC Has $1 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Founders Financial Alliance LLC decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,091 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of COST. Swedbank AB raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 443,747 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $393,391,000 after purchasing an additional 6,495 shares during the last quarter. United Bank raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,285,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 316 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,629,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,228,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Raymond James boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 target price (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,030.43.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of COST stock opened at $934.41 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $989.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $944.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $697.27 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $414.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.87, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

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.