Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by SouthState Corp

SouthState Corp cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 24,744 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 113 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 1.5% of SouthState Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. SouthState Corp’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $22,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake 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. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

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

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $903.92 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $401.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.08, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $989.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $944.86.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during 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%. Research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. 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. Oppenheimer reiterated 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. 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. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,030.43.

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.