Southeast Asset Advisors LLC Has $2.67 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Southeast Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,918 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 12 shares during the quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COST. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,020,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $984,000. Stanich Group LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,916,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on COST. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $916.48 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. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $702.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $988.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $948.42. The firm has a market cap of $406.63 billion, a PE ratio of 53.82, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95.

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). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 over the last ninety days. Corporate 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.