Corient Private Wealth LLC Has $1.25 Billion Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Corient Private Wealth LLC trimmed its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,374,168 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 7,278 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 2.1% of Corient Private Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,254,435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,197 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,766 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,618,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Tumwater Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $475,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 32,869 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,117,000 after buying an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $912,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $903.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $401.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.08, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s 50 day moving average is $989.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $944.47. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,030.43.

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.