Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Purchases 576 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 51.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,703 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 576 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Steph & Co. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Seven research 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $691.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction 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 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,727 shares of company stock worth $8,170,388. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $1.74 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $709.51. 2,190,356 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,668,139. The firm has a market capitalization of $314.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day moving average of $730.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $661.22. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 yield of 0.65%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.68%.

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.