Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Position Boosted by Annex Advisory Services LLC

by · The Cerbat Gem

Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST – Free Report) by 8.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,471 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,410 shares during the quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $30,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Collier Financial purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of COST stock opened at $1,010.81 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $793.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market cap of $448.48 billion, a PE ratio of 59.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $992.47 and a 200-day moving average of $978.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on COST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,035.32.

Get Our Latest Analysis on COST

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 stock was 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 directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Costco Wholesale

(Free Report)

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.

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