Austin Private Wealth LLC Acquires 112 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Austin Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 28.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 504 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Steph & Co. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 888.9% in the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 89 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $732.63 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $724.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $642.61. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $324.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.92, a PEG ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 26.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $662.30, for a total transaction of $927,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,220,540.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total value of $1,700,825.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,910 shares in the company, valued at $4,020,750.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $662.30, for a total value of $927,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,220,540.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,582 shares of company stock worth $10,736,778 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $615.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $640.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $755.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $640.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $668.50.

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.