Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST is Connective Capital Management LLC's 7th Largest Position

Key Points

• Connective Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 76.0% in the first quarter, making Costco its 7th largest position in its portfolio.
• Several institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Vanguard Group Inc., significantly increased their holdings in Costco, reflecting strong interest from the investment community, with institutional ownership now at 68.48%.
• Analysts have varied outlooks on Costco, with target prices ranging from $1,060 to $1,225, showing a generally positive sentiment as 17 analysts rated it a Buy.

Connective Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 76.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,526 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,955 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 3.9% of Connective Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Connective Capital Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after buying an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at $3,461,159,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,817,573,000 after purchasing an additional 587,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock worth $40,332,515,000 after purchasing an additional 443,101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Evercore ISI decreased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased 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 research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.1%

COST stock opened at $958.54 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $425.09 billion, a PE ratio of 54.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a fifty day moving average of $969.85 and a 200-day moving average of $984.60. 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 Corporation has a one year low of $867.16 and a one year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were 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 approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,147 shares of company stock worth $10,067,740. Company 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.

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