Sage Mountain Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,845 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 179 shares during the quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $934.41 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $697.27 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $414.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.87, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $989.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $944.28. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.