Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Has $37.17 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 23.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,687 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,829 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.7% of Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $37,168,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,280 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,089,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 22,112 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $20,392,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494 shares during the period. Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $234,000. Bank of Marin boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Marin now owns 3,003 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,752,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, North Forty Two & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $216,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $898.05 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The business’s 50 day moving average is $989.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $945.12. The company has a market cap of $398.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.73, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,030.43.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.