Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Increases Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.6% in Q1, now holding 27,126 shares valued at approximately $25.7 million.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with a payout ratio of 29.50%, and the distribution will be made on August 15th.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on Costco, with a target price ranging from $1,060 to $1,225, reflecting varying growth expectations for the company's stock.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 27,126 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 1,189 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $25,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,040.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of COST stock traded up $8.89 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $977.45. 1,889,814 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,222,700. The business's fifty day moving average is $979.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $984.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $433.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.44, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $820.45 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Costco Wholesale Company 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.