Sage Mountain Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,845 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 179 shares during the quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $934.41 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $989.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $944.28. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The company has a market capitalization of $414.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.87, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 target price (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,030.43.

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.