Choate Investment Advisors Has $8.57 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Choate Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 13.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,356 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.5 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $903.92 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $989.80 and its 200 day moving average is $944.47. The company has a market capitalization of $401.25 billion, a PE ratio of 53.08, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.81.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price target (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,030.43.

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.