Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by EPG Wealth Management LLC

EPG Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 13.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,982 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 319 shares during the period. EPG Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,816,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 9,073 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,313,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Covenant Partners LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 561 shares of the retailer's stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 124,596 shares of the retailer's stock worth $114,163,000 after buying an additional 1,337 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advantage Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $910,000. Finally, Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 371.4% in the fourth quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 165,000 shares of the retailer's stock worth $151,185,000 after buying an additional 130,000 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,010.50 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $960.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $961.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $755.57 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company has a market cap of $448.34 billion, a PE ratio of 59.34, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. 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 yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale 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.

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