Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 67.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,912 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. raised its holdings in shares of 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 period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,442 shares of company stock valued at $9,303,768. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $4.63 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $713.65. The stock had a trading volume of 676,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,100,947. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $730.82 and a 200-day moving average of $657.77. The firm has a market cap of $316.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.16, a PEG ratio of 4.87 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $476.75 and a fifty-two week high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $691.28.

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.