Vest Financial LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 961.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,146 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 20,966 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $21,891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Collier Financial bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on COST. Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of COST stock traded down $8.76 on Monday, hitting $1,006.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,694,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,056,696. The business has a 50 day moving average of $994.50 and a 200 day moving average of $980.11. The stock has a market cap of $446.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.08, 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. 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 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,600 shares of company stock worth $11,168,495. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.