Grant Private Wealth Management Inc Purchases New Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Grant Private Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 549 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $503,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,741 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,265,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 40,349 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $36,971,000 after acquiring an additional 3,654 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 14,151 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $12,966,000 after purchasing an additional 2,143 shares in the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,522 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,300,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Martin Worley Group purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $726,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.1 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $965.08 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $988.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $947.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $428.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.67, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. As a group, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on COST. DA Davidson lifted their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.