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

Armis Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 961 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $881,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, 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 quarter, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on 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. Loop Capital set a $1,045.00 price target on Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued 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 $1,028.46.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.3%

COST stock traded down $3.03 during trading on Thursday, hitting $1,010.12. The company had a trading volume of 947,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,045,493. The business has a 50-day moving average of $979.82 and a 200-day moving average of $974.01. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $788.20 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $448.17 billion, a PE ratio of 59.31, a PEG 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 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 firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. 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. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 30.36%.

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.