Providence Capital Advisors LLC Has $281,000 Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 307 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 14 shares during the quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. United Bank grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.5% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,285,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 182.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 102.4% during the 3rd quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 773 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $685,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 652 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on COST. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,029.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $938.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $416.51 billion, a PE ratio of 55.12, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $988.34 and its 200-day moving average is $945.95.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is currently 27.09%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.