Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by KKM Financial LLC

KKM Financial LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,057 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.5% of KKM Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. KKM Financial LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $1,008.70 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $771.43 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $447.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.23, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $958.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $963.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.