Nutshell Asset Management Ltd Invests $2.66 Million in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Nutshell Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 2,900 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,657,000. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.7% of Nutshell Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,394,465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519,861 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,476,000 after purchasing an additional 795,345 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,068,772 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $979,284,000 after purchasing an additional 382,367 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock opened at $916.48 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $988.70 and a 200-day moving average of $947.67. The firm has a market cap of $406.63 billion, a PE ratio of 53.82, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $702.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. 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 earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

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.