Fortis Group Advisors LLC Has $3.27 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Fortis Group Advisors LLC lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 26.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,460 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,241 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Aspect Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST traded down $2.96 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $950.95. 2,110,863 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,068,152. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,000.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $982.43. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $793.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $421.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

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.