Elite Wealth Management Inc. Sells 537 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Elite Wealth Management Inc. lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,853 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 537 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.3% of Elite Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Elite Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Financial Services LTD. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. First National Corp MA ADV grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 3,098 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Morton Capital Management LLC CA increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 1,564 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 2,736 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Optas LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,383 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,573,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total value of $1,700,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,020,750.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,442 shares of company stock worth $9,303,768 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded down $3.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $712.72. 461,315 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,088,803. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $730.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $658.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $476.75 and a fifty-two week high of $787.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $316.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.79, a P/E/G ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 26.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on COST. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus 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.