Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. Buys 291 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Prescott Group Capital Management increased its stake in Costco by 17.0%, holding 1,999 shares worth approximately $1.89 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30, which will be paid to shareholders on August 15, representing an annual yield of 0.56%.
• Analysts have a consensus target price for Costco shares at $1,037.48, with 20 out of 29 analysts rating it as a buy.

Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 17.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,999 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the quarter. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,891,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,665,921,000 after purchasing an additional 149,209 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the 1st 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 period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $5,182,316,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after buying an additional 587,303 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of COST traded down $2.55 during trading on Monday, reaching $932.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 738,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,205,599. The company has a fifty day moving average of $992.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $984.23. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The company has a market cap of $413.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.03, a P/E/G ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.97. 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 (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on COST. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Nine equities 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, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

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.