IHT Wealth Management LLC Trims Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

IHT Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,750 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 809 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Barclays upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Truist Financial lifted 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. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $0.86 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $974.62. 888,260 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,027,438. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $432.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.29, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $968.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $954.92. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $714.41 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. As a group, analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.