Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC Has $881,000 Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 19.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,311 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,049,630,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100,099 shares during the last quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $390,630,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $297,915,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,088,673 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,180,016,000 after buying an additional 323,346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,161,630 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $656,274,000 after buying an additional 300,000 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $7.90 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $763.41. The stock had a trading volume of 1,511,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,030,519. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $731.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $675.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $476.75 and a twelve month high of $787.08. The firm has a market cap of $338.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $694.48.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.