Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Merrion Investment Management Co LLC

Merrion Investment Management Co LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 19.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,190 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $872,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,628,694,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,099 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $510,353,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3,647.1% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 567,641 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $374,688,000 after buying an additional 552,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,360,168 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,640,940,000 after buying an additional 485,051 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $849.99. 2,131,691 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,840,321. The stock has a market cap of $376.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.79. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $524.63 and a fifty-two week high of $873.96. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $801.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $739.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 2nd. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $756.85.

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.