Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. Has $5.12 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,982 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 83 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 2.9% of Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,360,168 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,640,940,000 after buying an additional 485,051 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $3,628,694,000. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,539,245 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,336,198,000 after purchasing an additional 132,292 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,049,630,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,794,480 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,844,581,000 after purchasing an additional 85,398 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $3.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $858.61. 529,843 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,968,618. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $793.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $735.97. The company has a market capitalization of $380.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.11, a P/E/G ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.79. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $522.10 and a 12 month high of $873.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.43 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $700.00 to $765.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $875.00 target price (up from $800.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $756.85.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.