Fortis Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 1,701 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Fortis Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 53.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,878 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 1,701 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.4% of Fortis Capital Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.7 %

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $15.91 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $979.32. The stock had a trading volume of 2,218,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,006,426. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $702.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $982.89 and a 200 day moving average of $949.81. The firm has a market cap of $434.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

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Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.