Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) is Hudson Value Partners LLC’s 7th Largest Position

Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,501 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 2.9% of Hudson Value Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Hudson Value Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $979.23 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $971.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $954.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $434.47 billion, a PE ratio of 57.50, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $714.41 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.36%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, DA Davidson raised 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.