Clarity Wealth Development LLC Takes $898,000 Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Clarity Wealth Development LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 916 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $898,000. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.0% of Clarity Wealth Development LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 443,747 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $393,391,000 after acquiring an additional 6,495 shares during the last quarter. United Bank lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,285,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 55,041 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $48,795,000 after buying an additional 921 shares during the last quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.9% during the third quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GLOBALT Investments LLC GA raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.8% during the third quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 3,752 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,326,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $916.61 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $697.27 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $989.68 and its 200-day moving average is $945.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $406.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.82, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,030.43.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.