Jackson Wealth Management LLC Has $19.26 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Jackson Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 20,359 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 326 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 2.3% of Jackson Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Jackson Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Miramar Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 818 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $749,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $583,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lifeworks Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 895 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $820,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Loop Capital cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ COST opened at $986.27 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $437.39 billion, a PE ratio of 55.94, a PEG ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,005.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $981.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation 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 0.53%. 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%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.