Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. Increases Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,242 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 2.7% of Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $36,169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Aspect Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on COST. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. 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 research report on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $2.80 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $984.22. 610,263 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,212,272. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,005.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $981.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $436.48 billion, a PE ratio of 55.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950 over the last 90 days. 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.