EFG Asset Management North America Corp. Increases Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,099 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 591 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.9% of EFG Asset Management North America Corp.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,440 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,817,000 after acquiring an additional 2,978 shares during the period. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $591,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 386,380 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $354,028,000 after purchasing an additional 983 shares in the last quarter. Hirtle Callaghan & Co LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Hirtle Callaghan & Co LLC now owns 767 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $703,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Interchange Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 988 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $905,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price objective (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.8 %

COST opened at $926.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $987.58 and a 200 day moving average of $945.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market cap of $410.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.38, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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.