Albion Financial Group UT Has $22.34 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Albion Financial Group UT lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,495 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 56 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 1.7% of Albion Financial Group UT’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Albion Financial Group UT’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $22,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded up $3.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $862.66. 814,202 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,958,380. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $382.45 billion, a PE ratio of 53.45, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.78. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $524.63 and a 12 month high of $873.96. The company has a fifty day moving average of $807.29 and a 200 day moving average of $743.56.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $777.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $758.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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.