Headlands Technologies LLC Invests $2.13 Million in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,321 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,127,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invenio Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Invenio Wealth Partners LLC now owns 580 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $531,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares during the period. National Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 426.1% in the 4th quarter. National Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,252 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after buying an additional 1,014 shares in the last quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 670 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $614,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Gibson Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.2% during the 4th quarter. Gibson Capital LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $958,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.9 %

COST stock opened at $954.40 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $988.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $947.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $423.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.04, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $697.27 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

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.