Townsquare Capital LLC Has $30.46 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,246 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,351 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $30,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Crux Wealth Advisors bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $239,000. Aquire Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $204,000. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC now owns 5,018 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,598,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 53.5% during the fourth quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,878 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,353,000 after acquiring an additional 1,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 343,614 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $314,653,000 after acquiring an additional 5,407 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $963.41 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $982.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $949.47. The stock has a market cap of $427.45 billion, a PE ratio of 56.57, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $702.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on COST. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,024.03.

About Costco Wholesale

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.