GS Investments Inc. Has $4.70 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

GS Investments Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,132 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 219 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 2.1% of GS Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. GS Investments Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,702,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 1,024 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $938,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 21,472 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $19,674,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 214,674 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $196,699,000 after buying an additional 4,502 shares during the period. Next Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 30.6% in the 4th quarter. Next Capital Management LLC now owns 324 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, GM Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,679 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,371,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital cut their price target 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. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,030.43.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $904.05 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $401.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.09, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a fifty day moving average of $988.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $944.83. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $697.27 and a 52-week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors 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 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

About Costco Wholesale

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.