Ade LLC Has $604,000 Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ade LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 915 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 30 shares during the quarter. Ade LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Howard Financial Services LTD. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. First National Corp MA ADV increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 3,098 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,045,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Morton Capital Management LLC CA increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 1,564 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Insight Advisors LLC PA increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 2,736 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Optas LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,383 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,573,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 216,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,727 shares of company stock worth $8,170,388 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded down $7.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $704.24. 614,785 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,077,400. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $730.57 and its 200-day moving average is $659.59. The stock has a market cap of $312.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.77. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $476.75 and a 1-year high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its 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 return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 26.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Gordon Haskett downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $691.28.

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.