360 Financial Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• 360 Financial Inc. increased its Costco Wholesale holdings by 16.7% during the first quarter, totaling 2,439 shares valued at approximately $2.3 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Wellington Shields & Co. and Mesirow Financial, have also raised their stakes in Costco, indicating strong institutional interest in the stock.
• Costco Wholesale declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with a yield of 0.56%, demonstrating consistent shareholder returns.

360 Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 16.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,439 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.8% of 360 Financial Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. 360 Financial Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.3% in the first quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,040,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 48,291 shares of the retailer's stock worth $45,688,000 after purchasing an additional 2,307 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 53.8% in the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 6,846 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,475,000 after buying an additional 2,394 shares during the last quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. now owns 485 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Foundation Advisors increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 15,222 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $14,397,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded down $7.06 on Wednesday, reaching $927.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,682,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,941,458. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $986.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $983.48. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $411.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.61, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on COST. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,037.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.