Aspen Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Aspen Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 482 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $456,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock worth $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.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $950.95 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $793.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $998.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $983.13. The firm has a market cap of $421.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.94, a PEG ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.97.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on COST. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Loop Capital decreased 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 research note on Thursday, May 29th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,037.48.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 sale, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their position. 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. 0.18% of the stock is currently 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.

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