Advisors Preferred LLC Takes Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 17,382 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $16,589,000. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 2.2% of Advisors Preferred LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COST. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,717,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,182,316,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after buying an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 79.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 775,541 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $710,624,000 after buying an additional 343,390 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on COST. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Loop Capital decreased their target price 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. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $1.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $935.48. 1,825,525 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,969,335. The firm has a market capitalization of $414.87 billion, a PE ratio of 53.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $793.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $992.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $983.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be given 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 yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio 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.