Kennedy Capital Management LLC Invests $5.47 Million in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,467 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $5,471,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of COST. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,916,118,000 after purchasing an additional 473,702 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,628,694,000. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,802,147,000 after acquiring an additional 285,533 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,049,630,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,794,480 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,844,581,000 after acquiring an additional 85,398 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,350 shares of company stock worth $2,837,131. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.8 %

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $6.44 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $816.47. 408,180 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,977,901. The company has a market capitalization of $361.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.19, a PEG ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $842.53 and its 200 day moving average is $769.29. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $530.56 and a 52 week high of $896.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on COST. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $905.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $920.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $799.33.

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.