Sandy Spring Bank Increases Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sandy Spring Bank boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 21,472 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 176 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.8% of Sandy Spring Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $904.05 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $401.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.09, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $988.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $944.83. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $697.27 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on COST. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price target (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,030.43.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.