Wick Capital Partners LLC Buys 140,180 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Wick Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 15,965.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 141,058 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 140,180 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 22.1% of Wick Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Wick Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $129,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,394,465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519,861 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,476,000 after purchasing an additional 795,345 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,817,573,000 after buying an additional 587,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,668,069,000 after buying an additional 455,043 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of COST opened at $991.70 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $715.32 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $440.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $963.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $957.14.

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). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.36%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,024.03.

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.