Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Boosts Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 10.5%, owning 11,262 shares valued at approximately $10.65 million as of the latest 13F filing.
• Costco reported a quarterly earnings per share of $4.28, surpassing analyst expectations and reflecting an 8% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.6%, alongside a dividend payout ratio of 29.50%.

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 10.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,262 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 1,071 shares during the quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,436,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,095,000. Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $241,000. Finally, Gateway Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,380 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,305,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded up $12.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $952.52. The stock had a trading volume of 2,932,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,019,283. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $983.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $983.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $422.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.03, a P/E/G ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.23. 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 released its 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 company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. Costco Wholesale's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus 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.