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

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

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of COST. Grassi Investment Management lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Grassi Investment Management now owns 5,155 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,723,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,441,000 after buying an additional 837 shares during the period. Redmond Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $1,214,000. May Barnhard Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $485,000. Finally, Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,852 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,529,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of COST traded up $9.29 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $1,017.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,865,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,050,996. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $975.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $973.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $788.20 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $451.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.76, 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 data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $63.02 billion. 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a positive change 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. 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 report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.