Echo45 Advisors LLC Has $562,000 Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Echo45 Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 851 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 43 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.4% of Echo45 Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Echo45 Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 118,320.2% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,396,524 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,376,513,000 after purchasing an additional 7,390,278 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $2,328,844,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after buying an additional 3,100,099 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,634,627 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,941,708,000 after buying an additional 1,315,174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 172.6% in the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,357,548 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $730,877,000 after buying an additional 859,599 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total value of $5,487,440.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 216,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,727 shares of company stock worth $8,170,388. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $691.28.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of COST traded down $7.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $704.24. The stock had a trading volume of 614,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,077,400. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $476.75 and a 52 week high of $787.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $730.57 and a 200 day moving average of $659.59. The company has a market cap of $312.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.66%. 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 is currently 26.68%.

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.