IPG Investment Advisors LLC Sells 161 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

IPG Investment Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,670 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 161 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.0% of IPG Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. IPG Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $984,000. Stanich Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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 note on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird increased 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 report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 target price (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $929.66 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $988.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $946.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $412.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released 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). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $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 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.