King Luther Capital Management Corp Grows Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in Costco by 8.5%, owning 44,669 shares valued at approximately $42.25 million as of the end of the most recent quarter.
• Analysts have varied price targets on Costco's stock, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. raising theirs from $1,115 to $1,160, while Morgan Stanley increased theirs from $1,150 to $1,225, reflecting a generally positive outlook.
• Costco reported a Q1 revenue of $63.21 billion, exceeding expectations, with an EPS of $4.28, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share to be paid on August 15th.

King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 8.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,669 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,484 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $42,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $7.76 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $988.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,288,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,222,014. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $977.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $985.43. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $852.40 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a market cap of $438.48 billion, a PE ratio of 56.08, a PEG ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.96. 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 (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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 report on Friday, May 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,050.00.

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.