Rehmann Capital Advisory Group Acquires 189 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,742 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.6%

COST stock opened at $985.84 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $437.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.92, a PEG ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,005.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $981.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950 over the last three months. 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.