Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by AGF Management Ltd.

Key Points

• AGF Management Ltd. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 104.9% in Q1, now owning 78,276 shares valued at approximately $74 million.
• Costco reported earnings of $4.28 EPS for the recent quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $63.21 billion, up 8.0% year-over-year.
• The company has a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share set to be paid on August 15, reflecting a 0.5% annual yield.

AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 104.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,276 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 40,068 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $74,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $40,332,515,000 after acquiring an additional 443,101 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152,528 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after acquiring an additional 587,303 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,990,957 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,656,828,000 after acquiring an additional 18,897 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,695,796,000 after acquiring an additional 191,985 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock traded down $6.82 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $981.92. The stock had a trading volume of 106,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,208,109. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $856.16 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a market cap of $435.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $976.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $985.77. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, August 4th. Evercore ISI decreased 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,050.00.

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.