BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC Buys 27 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 479 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Aspire Private Capital LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 122.0% during the third quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 91 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $1.50 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $803.36. 624,898 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,964,859. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $739.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $693.12. The company has a market capitalization of $356.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $808.05. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $810.00 to $820.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, May 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $696.88.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of 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 the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company 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.