Ritholtz Wealth Management Has $10.92 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,549 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Steph & Co. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 888.9% in the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 89 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Northcoast Research lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $620.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $785.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $755.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $668.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,582 shares of company stock valued at $10,736,778 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $732.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $724.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $642.61. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $476.75 and a 1 year high of $787.08. The company has a market capitalization of $324.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.68%.

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.