Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) is Optimum Investment Advisors’ 6th Largest Position

Optimum Investment Advisors lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,048 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 240 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 2.4% of Optimum Investment Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Optimum Investment Advisors’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on COST. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $909.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $403.42 billion, a PE ratio of 53.39, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $987.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $945.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced 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). 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business 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 27.09%.

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.