Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) is Argentarii LLC's 7th Largest Position

Argentarii LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 14.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,004 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 2.3% of Argentarii LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Argentarii LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 10.2% during the first quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 162 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $153,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 607 shares of the retailer's stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,543,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. One Day In July LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. One Day In July LLC now owns 1,008 shares of the retailer's stock worth $954,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC now owns 1,754 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,660,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $5.16 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $992.18. 1,831,328 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,073,144. The company's 50 day moving average is $1,005.20 and its 200 day moving average is $981.38. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $440.01 billion, a PE ratio of 56.28, a P/E/G ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend 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 currently 29.50%.

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.