DeDora Capital Inc. Acquires 120 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

DeDora Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,116 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.0% of DeDora Capital Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. DeDora Capital Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,360,168 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,640,940,000 after buying an additional 485,051 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,628,694,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,134,947 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,901,040,000 after purchasing an additional 210,586 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,539,245 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,336,198,000 after purchasing an additional 132,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on COST. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of COST traded up $11.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $743.90. 2,323,300 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,605,560. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $476.75 and a 52 week high of $787.08. The company has a market cap of $329.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.65, a PEG ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $730.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $671.71. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 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 firm had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.35%.

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.