Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by HB Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 30.9% during the first quarter, holding 26,827 shares valued at $25.37 million following the acquisition of an additional 6,336 shares.
• Institutional investors now own 68.48% of Costco's stock, with significant increases in holdings from other hedge funds, including GAMMA Investing LLC which raised its stake by an astonishing 106,402.1%.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 to be paid on August 15, reflecting an annualized dividend of $5.20 and a dividend yield of 0.56%.

HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 30.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,827 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 6,336 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $25,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after buying an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,817,573,000 after purchasing an additional 587,303 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 79.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 775,541 shares of the retailer's stock worth $710,624,000 after purchasing an additional 343,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $280,046,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,037.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of COST stock opened at $935.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $414.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $992.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $983.45. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $793.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

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.

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