Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Synovus Financial Corp

Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,817 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $34,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $963.41 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $982.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $949.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $427.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $702.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.