Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Holdings Raised by Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 43.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,187 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,837,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. TrueMark Investments LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 557.7% during the fourth quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC now owns 3,032 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,778,000 after purchasing an additional 2,571 shares in the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 3,564 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,265,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the period. SwitchPoint Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $250,000. Morey & Quinn Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $744,000. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $526,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $930.26 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $987.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $946.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $412.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

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.