Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC

Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 228 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,257,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 178,809 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $163,837,000 after buying an additional 12,722 shares during the last quarter. Addison Capital Co boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Addison Capital Co now owns 1,114 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,021,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $234,000. Finally, First National Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. First National Advisers LLC now owns 8,214 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,526,000 after buying an additional 279 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 issued reports on COST. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed 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. lifted 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,030.43.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $903.92 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $401.25 billion, a PE ratio of 53.08, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $989.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $944.86. 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 52-week low of $697.27 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.