Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Buys 100 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,001 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $917,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COST. United Bank raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,285,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 182.1% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Tradition Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,758 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,445,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 176.6% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 130 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $929.66 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $412.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $988.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $946.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. 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 results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.