Wealth Architects LLC Trims Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Wealth Architects LLC lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,291 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Wealth Architects LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,183,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,030.43.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $903.92 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $401.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.08, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $989.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $944.86.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Costco Wholesale 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.