Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Purchases New Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 448 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $5.19 on Friday, hitting $822.08. The company had a trading volume of 2,598,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,182,416. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $843.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $770.96. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $530.56 and a 1 year high of $896.67. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $364.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.93, a P/E/G ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 2nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $900.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $805.46.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,350 shares of company stock valued at $2,837,131 in the last three months. 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.