Summit Financial Consulting LLC Makes New Investment in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Summit Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 407 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $385,000. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.4% of Summit Financial Consulting LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Whelan Financial raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 1,209 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Sutton Place Investors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 16.2% during the first quarter. Sutton Place Investors LLC now owns 344 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the first quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 38,242 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $36,169,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 20.2% in the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,035 shares of the retailer's stock worth $14,220,000 after acquiring an additional 2,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 3,517 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,327,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. Nine 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 presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,034.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $2.80 on Monday, hitting $984.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 610,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,212,272. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market cap of $436.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,005.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $981.38.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.50%.

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.