Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Kanawha Capital Management LLC

Kanawha Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,934 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.2% of Kanawha Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Kanawha Capital Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $16,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares during the period. F&V Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $236,000. Umpqua Bank boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 4,507 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,134,000 after buying an additional 577 shares during the period. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $241,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 68,976 shares of the retailer's stock worth $63,200,000 after buying an additional 16,967 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $982.36 on Thursday. The company's fifty day moving average is $1,004.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $981.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The company has a market cap of $435.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Loop Capital cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,034.79.

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.

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.