Integral Investment Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Integral Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,466 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 27 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.6% of Integral Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Integral Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded down $3.81 during trading on Thursday, reaching $711.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,131,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,088,137. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $315.50 billion, a PE ratio of 46.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $730.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $659.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 216,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $148,306,297.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,942 shares of company stock worth $7,602,943. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $691.28.

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.