Apollon Financial LLC Raises Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Apollon Financial LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 10.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,805 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 620 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.5% of Apollon Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Apollon Financial LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,665,921,000 after purchasing an additional 149,209 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,182,316,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock traded up $2.54 during trading on Thursday, hitting $953.91. The stock had a trading volume of 2,276,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,067,965. The company's 50 day moving average price is $1,000.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $982.43. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $423.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.97. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,037.48.

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.