Versant Capital Management Inc Acquires 890 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 141.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,517 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 890 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,435,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. First Hawaiian Bank boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 5,926 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,605,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 2,065 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,953,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Waller Financial Planning Group Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth $281,000. Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth $220,000. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 887 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $839,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 4.0%

NASDAQ COST traded up $40.04 on Friday, hitting $1,048.78. 5,400,884 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,061,193. The company's 50 day moving average price is $983.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $975.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $465.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $788.20 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on COST. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.