Next Capital Management LLC Buys 76 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Next Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 30.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 324 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the quarter. Next Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $297,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. GM Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,679 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,371,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 40,687 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $37,168,000 after buying an additional 7,829 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,280 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,089,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 22,112 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $20,392,000 after acquiring an additional 1,494 shares during the period. Finally, Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $234,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $898.05 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $697.27 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The company has a market cap of $398.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.73, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $989.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $945.12.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on 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. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,030.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.