Echo45 Advisors LLC Sells 43 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Echo45 Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 851 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 43 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.4% of Echo45 Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Echo45 Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Steph & Co. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was 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 $148,306,297.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,727 shares of company stock worth $8,170,388 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST traded down $7.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $704.24. The stock had a trading volume of 614,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,077,400. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $312.33 billion, a PE ratio of 46.11, a PEG ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $730.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $659.59.

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 return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current 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 given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 26.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Gordon Haskett lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.