Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 309.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,870 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 2,924 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.6% of Aigen Investment Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Aigen Investment Management LP's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,660,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,050.00.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Costco Wholesale
Costco Wholesale Price Performance
NASDAQ:COST traded up $7.76 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $988.74. 2,288,841 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,222,014. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $977.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $985.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $438.48 billion, a PE ratio of 56.08, a PEG ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $852.40 and a 1-year 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.
Costco Wholesale Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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