Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by Nemes Rush Group LLC

Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 670 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Nemes Rush Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $614,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,380,648,000 after buying an additional 162,191 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,182,316,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,077,905 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,820,193,000 after acquiring an additional 43,414 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,899,904 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,657,095,000 after acquiring an additional 91,649 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $945.78 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $988.13 and its 200-day moving average is $947.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $419.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.54, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.09%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.