690 Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Acquired by AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC

AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 690 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $632,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $938.75 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. The company has a market cap of $416.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $988.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $945.95.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released 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). 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 the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders 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 0.49%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on COST. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price objective (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.