Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Position Reduced by RWA Wealth Partners LLC

RWA Wealth Partners LLC decreased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,097 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 10,024 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.6% of RWA Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. RWA Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $45,902,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. United Bank grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,285,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 182.1% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,377 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,767,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at $328,000. Finally, Worldly Partners Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Worldly Partners Management LLC now owns 90,416 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $80,156,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $929.66 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $988.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $946.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.59, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. 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 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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). 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. Equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 target price (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.