Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV Sells 25 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,545 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 25 shares during the period. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total value of $5,487,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,942 shares of company stock valued at $7,602,943. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of COST traded down $4.15 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $711.04. The company had a trading volume of 923,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,085,547. The stock has a market capitalization of $315.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $730.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $659.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $476.75 and a 52-week high of $787.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. This is an increase 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 (DPR) is presently 26.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on COST. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Northcoast Research cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $620.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.