Accuvest Global Advisors Takes $4.66 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Accuvest Global Advisors has acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale, purchasing 4,924 shares valued at approximately $4.7 million, making it the firm's third-largest investment.
• Costco recently reported a quarterly EPS of $4.28, beating analyst estimates, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, yielding 0.5%.
• Insider trading activity revealed significant sales, with two executives, Pierre Riel and Yoram Rubanenko, selling shares that represented substantial decreases in their holdings.

Accuvest Global Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 4,924 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $4,657,000. Costco Wholesale comprises 4.0% of Accuvest Global Advisors' holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $3.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $980.98. 2,188,224 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,172,175. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $977.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $984.85. The stock has a market cap of $435.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.64, a PEG ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $837.63 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Evercore ISI cut their price target on 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. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,040.81.

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.