Alterity Financial Group LLC Reduces Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Alterity Financial Group LLC cut its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,004 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 22 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 2.8% of Alterity Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Alterity Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 28,855 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,302,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 43.0% during the third quarter. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 2,643 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,493,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Rice Partnership LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 11,741 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,633,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 79.6% in the 4th quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,358 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,837,000 after purchasing an additional 4,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 1,396.0% during the 2nd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 14,960 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,054,000 after buying an additional 13,960 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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 shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $9,220,540.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Caton Frates sold 740 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.50, for a total value of $505,790.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,593,803.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,400 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 sale, the insider now owns 13,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,220,540.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,582 shares of company stock valued at $10,736,778. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of COST stock opened at $732.63 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $724.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $642.61. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $476.75 and a 1-year high of $787.08. The company has a market cap of $324.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.92, a PEG ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $585.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $615.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $668.50.

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.