James J. Burns & Company LLC Purchases Shares of 554 Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

James J. Burns & Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 554 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $471,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,916,118,000 after acquiring an additional 473,702 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,628,694,000. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.1% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,802,147,000 after acquiring an additional 285,533 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.2% during the fourth 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. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,657,994 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,754,489,000 after acquiring an additional 77,345 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $14.64 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $877.35. 1,921,167 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,990,293. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $847.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $780.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $388.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.36, a PEG ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.78. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $530.56 and a 1 year high of $896.67.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.43 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COST. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $925.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $920.00 to $915.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. 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 report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $824.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $848.53, for a total transaction of $1,272,795.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,327,041.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the sale, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,970 shares of company stock worth $4,249,526. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.