Allworth Financial LP Boosts Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,406 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 703 shares during the quarter. Allworth Financial LP's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $52,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. May Barnhard Investments LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $485,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 45.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 117,254 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $107,436,000 after acquiring an additional 36,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 4,813 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,410,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on COST. Loop Capital cut 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 report on Thursday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock traded down $2.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $968.08. 1,223,157 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,081,158. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $429.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.91, a PEG ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock's 50-day moving average is $1,004.53 and its 200 day moving average is $981.82.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950 over the last ninety 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.