Wambolt & Associates LLC Has $4.50 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Wambolt & Associates LLC reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 21.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,906 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,301 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.4% of Wambolt & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $926.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $410.87 billion, a PE ratio of 54.38, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $987.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $945.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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 return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.