Merit Financial Group LLC Trims Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Merit Financial Group LLC lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 21.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,460 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,341 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Bordeaux Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 61.8% during the fourth quarter. Bordeaux Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,162 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,427,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares during the last quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $206,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 225.4% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 67,522 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $44,570,000 after purchasing an additional 46,774 shares in the last quarter. Smart Money Group LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 480 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $11.46 on Friday, hitting $743.90. The company had a trading volume of 2,322,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,041,084. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $476.75 and a 1 year high of $787.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $730.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $670.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $329.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.