Chiron Capital Management LLC Buys New Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Chiron Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale, purchasing 463 shares valued at approximately $438,000 during the first quarter.
• Costco recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30, resulting in an annualized dividend of $5.20 and a yield of 0.6%.
• Wall Street analysts have shown positive sentiment, with 17 analysts rating Costco stock as a Buy and an average price target set at $1,050.00.

Chiron Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 463 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $438,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $943.32 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $965.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $979.61. The stock has a market cap of $418.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.51, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $867.16 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the 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 transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,147 shares of company stock worth $10,067,740 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,050.00.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.