Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Acquires 252 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,194 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $15,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,394,465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519,861 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $729,476,000 after buying an additional 795,345 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,068,772 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $979,284,000 after acquiring an additional 382,367 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,252,274,000 after acquiring an additional 324,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,299,535 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,132,519,000 after acquiring an additional 231,969 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $916.61 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $989.68 and its 200 day moving average is $945.08. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $406.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.82, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) 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, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on COST. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped 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 report on Tuesday, March 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,030.43.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.