Quantum Private Wealth LLC Reduces Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Quantum Private Wealth LLC reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 401 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 20 shares during the period. Quantum Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Steph & Co. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $691.28.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 216,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ COST traded down $2.67 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $713.30. 404,485 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,088,089. The stock has a market capitalization of $316.35 billion, a PE ratio of 46.79, a PEG ratio of 4.78 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 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $730.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $658.84.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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