BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 63.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 319 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 555 shares during the quarter. BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. United Bank raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,285,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 182.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 409 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 7,297 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,469,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,377 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,767,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $328,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock traded up $17.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $946.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,894,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,945,707. The stock has a market cap of $420.07 billion, a PE ratio of 55.59, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company's 50 day moving average is $988.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $946.86. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $697.27 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.09%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,075.00 price objective (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,029.00.

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.