Armis Advisers LLC Makes New $881,000 Investment in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Armis Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 961 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $881,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Collier Financial bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 directly owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $4.65 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $1,013.14. 1,666,749 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,049,469. The business's fifty day moving average is $977.74 and its 200 day moving average is $973.74. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $788.20 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $449.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.49, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. 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 (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). 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%. 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on COST. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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.