Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by Fayez Sarofim & Co

Key Points

• Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its stake in Costco by 2.9%, owning 14,837 shares valued at approximately $14 million after purchasing an additional 418 shares.
• Several institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC, which lifted its stake by 106,402.1%, have significantly increased their holdings in Costco, highlighting a growing institutional interest.
• Costco recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30, set to be paid on August 15th, representing an annualized payout of $5.20 and a yield of 0.5%.

Fayez Sarofim & Co boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,837 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $14,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after acquiring an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $40,332,515,000 after acquiring an additional 443,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 79.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 775,541 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $710,624,000 after acquiring an additional 343,390 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital dropped their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.6%

COST opened at $968.56 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $809.26 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $979.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $984.38. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $429.54 billion, a PE ratio of 54.94, a PEG ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 0.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding COST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.