1,249 Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Bought by Bernard Wealth Management Corp.

Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 1,249 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,144,000. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.8% of Bernard Wealth Management Corp.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COST. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $984,000. Stanich Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,916,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $908.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $402.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $987.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $948.47. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $702.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. On average, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.