Boltwood Capital Management Boosts Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Boltwood Capital Management lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 40.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,260 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 361 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 329.4% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 73 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at $71,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of COST traded up $8.38 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $924.96. The company had a trading volume of 602,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,299,572. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $943.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $896.64. The company has a market capitalization of $410.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $654.03 and a 52 week high of $1,008.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,013.59.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,816 shares of company stock valued at $6,981,347. 0.18% of the stock is owned by 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.