Keystone Financial Group Purchases New Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Keystone Financial Group purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 427 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $282,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Aspire Private Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 122.0% during the 3rd quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 91 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’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 transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST traded up $2.64 on Wednesday, reaching $803.57. 431,914 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,970,807. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $738.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $692.35. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $476.75 and a fifty-two week high of $806.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $356.38 billion, a PE ratio of 52.61, a PEG ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Gordon Haskett lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $810.00 to $820.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $695.08.

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.