Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. Raises Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,719 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 2.5% of Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $984,000. Stanich Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,025.79.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $965.19 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $702.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $984.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $948.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $428.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.68, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

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.