4,830 Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Purchased by Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc.

Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,830 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,189,000. Costco Wholesale makes up 3.3% of Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Steph & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $691.28.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.2 %

COST traded down $8.57 during trading on Friday, reaching $702.68. The company had a trading volume of 935,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,082,482. The stock has a market cap of $311.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.11, a PEG ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $730.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $659.59. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $476.75 and a 52 week high of $787.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,727 shares of company stock worth $8,170,388 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Costco Wholesale

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.