Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) is Kozak & Associates Inc.'s 8th Largest Position

Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,327 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 5.0% of Kozak & Associates Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Kozak & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stanich Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares during the period. RW Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. RW Investment Management LLC now owns 5,624 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,153,000 after purchasing an additional 989 shares during the last quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management now owns 10,536 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $9,654,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marks Group Wealth Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 1,002 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $918,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $10,825,205. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock traded down $12.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $990.21. The stock had a trading volume of 1,782,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,064,566. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,000.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $980.83. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $793.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $439.14 billion, a PE ratio of 58.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,035.32.

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.