Strata Wealth Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Strata Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 50.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 595 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 617 shares during the period. Strata Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 target price (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $777.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $756.85.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.1 %

COST opened at $849.99 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $524.63 and a 12 month high of $873.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $801.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $740.64. The stock has a market cap of $376.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.43 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.75%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.