GM Advisory Group LLC Has $3.37 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

GM Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,679 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swedbank AB grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 443,747 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $393,391,000 after buying an additional 6,495 shares in the last quarter. United Bank grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.5% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,285,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $263,000. Caprock Group LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 11.4% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 13,450 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,924,000 after buying an additional 1,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 181.2% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,145 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,107,000 after buying an additional 5,893 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock opened at $898.05 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $989.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $945.12. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $697.27 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $398.64 billion, a PE ratio of 52.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was 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. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Raymond James lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.