Highland Capital Management LLC Has $34.31 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Highland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 18.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,791 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 6,228 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.7% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $34,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hurley Capital LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 120.0% during the third quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 33 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, AXS Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,003.02, for a total transaction of $732,204.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,121 shares in the company, valued at $6,139,485.42. This represents a 10.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on COST. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Gordon Haskett boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,125.00 to $1,135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Evercore set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,045.97.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ COST opened at $1,012.79 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $996.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $950.04. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $844.06 and a one year high of $1,067.08. The firm has a market cap of $449.32 billion, a PE ratio of 52.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.98 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 11th. The retailer reported $4.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $69.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.96 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.57% and a net margin of 2.99%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.02 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st will be issued a $1.47 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.58%.

Costco Wholesale Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global chain of membership-only warehouse clubs that sell a wide array of merchandise in bulk at discounted prices. The company’s product mix includes groceries, fresh and frozen food, household goods, electronics, apparel, and seasonal items, augmented by its prominent private-label brand, Kirkland Signature. Costco’s business model centers on annual membership fees and high-volume, low-margin sales, designed to drive repeat purchasing and strong customer loyalty among both consumers and small-business buyers.

Beyond merchandise, Costco provides a range of ancillary services that complement its warehouses, including gasoline stations, pharmacy and optical services, hearing aid centers, photo services, and travel and insurance products.