Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Tucker Asset Management LLC

Tucker Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 417 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Palogic Value Management L.P. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Intrust Bank NA lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 5,028 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,607,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,219 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,945,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 3,148.1% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 13,155 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $12,054,000 after purchasing an additional 12,750 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $929.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $412.47 billion, a PE ratio of 54.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $988.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $946.18.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price target (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 over 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.