Quantum Private Wealth LLC Cuts Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Quantum Private Wealth LLC decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 28,855 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,302,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 2,643 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,493,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 272,288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $179,822,000 after acquiring an additional 61,122 shares during the last quarter. Rice Partnership LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 21.0% in the third quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 11,741 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,633,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 814 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Northcoast Research lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $620.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Truist Financial upped their price target 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. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $691.28.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded down $2.67 on Wednesday, reaching $713.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 404,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,088,089. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $476.75 and a 52-week high of $787.08. The company has a market capitalization of $316.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.79, a PEG ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $730.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $658.84.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS 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 issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 26.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total value of $1,700,825.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,020,750.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total value of $1,700,825.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,020,750.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,442 shares of company stock valued at $9,303,768 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.