Westwood Wealth Management Takes $202,000 Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Westwood Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 220 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. United Bank increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,285,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,053,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 124.9% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 21,690 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $19,229,000 after acquiring an additional 12,044 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 139,423 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $123,601,000 after buying an additional 9,752 shares during the period. Finally, Goldstream Capital Management Ltd acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at $707,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $916.48 on Friday. 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 cap of $406.63 billion, a PE ratio of 53.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $702.00 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $988.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $948.02.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Equities analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price objective (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.