AGP Franklin LLC Invests $5.35 Million in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

AGP Franklin LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 5,838 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $5,349,000. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 3.3% of AGP Franklin LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Morse Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.1% in the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 7,481 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,632,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 7,996 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,088,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 76.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 633 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the third quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,235,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $979.32 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $981.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $950.46. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $702.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company has a market capitalization of $434.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its 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). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on COST. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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, March 20th. 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 Thursday, April 10th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

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.