Fortis Capital Management LLC Has $5.52 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Fortis Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,026 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 1.0% of Fortis Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Fortis Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,522,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on COST shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $909.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $987.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $945.06. The company has a market capitalization of $403.42 billion, a PE ratio of 53.39, 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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.