Bridgewealth Advisory Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Bridgewealth Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 23.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 561 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 106 shares during the quarter. Bridgewealth Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Steph & Co. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of COST traded down $3.30 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $725.88. 234,470 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,032,383. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $730.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $667.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $476.75 and a 12-month high of $787.08. The company has a market cap of $321.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.