Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,743 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 37 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.6% of Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,843,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stevens Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 120.4% in the 4th quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 4,163 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,814,000 after purchasing an additional 2,274 shares during the last quarter. Hill Island Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Hill Island Financial LLC now owns 253 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Banco de Sabadell S.A lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Banco de Sabadell S.A now owns 4,575 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,193,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 37.8% in the 4th quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,411 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,209,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $9,608,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related 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 directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, 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 at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.5 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $909.26 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $987.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $945.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $403.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.39, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

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.