Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Position Raised by Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC

Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,242 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 443,747 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $393,391,000 after purchasing an additional 6,495 shares during the period. United Bank boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,285,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $195,000. Portfolio Design Labs LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 95.0% during the 3rd quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 468 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 29,200 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $25,886,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.0 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $895.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $397.47 billion, a PE ratio of 52.58, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $988.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $944.49. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released 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). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price target (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.