Wealthstar Advisors LLC Has $226,000 Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Wealthstar Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 309 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 15 shares during the quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $3.30 during trading on Thursday, hitting $862.66. 814,423 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,709,054. The company has a market capitalization of $382.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.78. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $524.63 and a 1-year high of $873.96. The business’s 50 day moving average is $810.06 and its 200-day moving average is $744.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $940.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Argus boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $758.70.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.