255 Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Acquired by Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC

Bestgate Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 255 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,196,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,823,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,235,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $898.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $989.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $945.12. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $398.64 billion, a PE ratio of 52.73, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. 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 company had revenue of $63.72 billion during 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, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price objective (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,030.43.

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.