Aspen Investment Management Inc Grows Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Aspen Investment Management Inc increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 42.5% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 317 shares for a total of 1,063 shares now valued at $1,005,000.
• Other institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC, have also significantly increased their positions in Costco, with GAMMA boosting its holdings by over 106,000%, owning now about 8.16 million shares.
• Costco declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with a current dividend yield of 0.5%, and the company’s payout ratio stands at 29.50%.

Aspen Investment Management Inc raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 42.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,063 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the quarter. Aspen Investment Management Inc's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 67,700 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $64,029,000 after acquiring an additional 3,700 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,141 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,971,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth $3,893,000. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 40.9% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 37,502 shares of the retailer's stock worth $35,469,000 after buying an additional 10,894 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 83.2% in the 1st quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 97,414 shares of the retailer's stock worth $92,132,000 after buying an additional 44,243 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock traded up $3.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $967.90. The stock had a trading volume of 1,460,154 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,950,274. The business's fifty day moving average is $960.40 and its 200-day moving average is $975.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market cap of $429.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.90, a PEG ratio of 5.43 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,147 shares of company stock valued at $5,031,130 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on COST. 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 research note on Friday, May 30th. Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,056.67.

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.