Level Four Advisory Services LLC Has $5 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 21.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,454 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,483 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. United Bank grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 182.1% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 7,297 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,469,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,377 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,767,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth $328,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on COST. TD Cowen increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $929.66 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $697.27 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The company has a market capitalization of $412.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.59, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $988.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $946.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 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.