Argent Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Argent Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,339 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 13 shares during the period. Argent Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.4 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $916.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $989.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $945.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $406.88 billion, a PE ratio of 53.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. 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 research report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,030.43.

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.