RIA Advisory Group LLC Buys New Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,557 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,028,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in 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 period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total value of $5,487,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 in the company, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,727 shares of company stock worth $8,170,388. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded down $1.74 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $709.51. 2,133,972 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,098,681. The firm has a market capitalization of $314.67 billion, a PE ratio of 46.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $730.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $659.59. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Truist Financial upped their price objective 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. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $691.28.

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.