792 Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Acquired by Martin Worley Group

Martin Worley Group bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 792 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $726,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $965.08 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $988.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $947.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $428.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.67, 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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current 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 $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

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.