Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by SouthState Corp

Key Points

• SouthState Corp increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 4.8% in Q1, now holding 25,937 shares valued at approximately $24.5 million.
• Costco reported $4.28 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and showed a revenue increase of 8% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.5%, payable on August 15th.

SouthState Corp raised its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,937 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 1,193 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.1% of SouthState Corp's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. SouthState Corp's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $24,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peninsula Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 818 shares of the retailer's stock worth $749,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer's stock worth $583,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the first quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,463,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.6% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer's stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NFP Retirement Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. now owns 980 shares of the retailer's stock worth $898,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded up $2.51 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $991.25. 1,586,926 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,217,587. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $856.16 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $976.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $985.77. 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 company has a market cap of $439.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.23, a P/E/G ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm 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 is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.