Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Bank OZK

Bank OZK raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,106 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.0% of Bank OZK’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Bank OZK’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth 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. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Steph & Co. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Gordon Haskett downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $694.48.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:COST traded up $7.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $729.18. 1,524,431 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,663,722. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $730.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $666.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $476.75 and a fifty-two week high of $787.08. The firm has a market cap of $323.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.69, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

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.