Ascent Capital Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ascent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 995 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $912,000. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.9% of Ascent Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,457,000. Tidemark LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Tidemark LLC now owns 371 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. one8zero8 LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $3,907,000. Choate Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 9,356 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,573,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Enterprises LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC now owns 524 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $480,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $903.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $401.25 billion, a PE ratio of 53.08, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.81. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $989.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $944.47.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price target (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,030.43.

Costco Wholesale 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.