Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. Has $3.83 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,181 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,831,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,646 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,510,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4,709.1% during the 4th quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC now owns 529 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the period. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 25,729 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $23,575,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 477 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC now owns 4,350 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,986,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $1,025.83 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $455.14 billion, a PE ratio of 60.24, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $961.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $967.73. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $788.20 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase 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 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 30.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,024.03.

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.