Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC Has $397,000 Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 19.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 602 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Steph & Co. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 888.9% during the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 89 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspire Private Capital LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 122.0% in the 3rd quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 91 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 66.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $612.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $640.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. Raymond James increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $580.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $585.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $668.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $662.30, for a total transaction of $927,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,922 shares in the company, valued at $9,220,540.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $662.30, for a total transaction of $927,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,922 shares in the company, valued at $9,220,540.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,582 shares of company stock worth $10,736,778. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $7.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $734.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,791,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,206,883. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $325.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.14 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $720.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $636.81. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $476.75 and a one year high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 26.68%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.