Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC Lowers Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 966 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 20 shares during the quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $885,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,048,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,196,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. SRN Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,823,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Miramar Capital LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,008.50 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $788.20 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $973.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $972.98. The company has a market capitalization of $447.45 billion, a PE ratio of 59.22, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on COST. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Ten 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

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.