First Foundation Advisors Boosts Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• First Foundation Advisors increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 2.3%, owning a total of 15,222 shares valued at approximately $14.4 million.
• Costco reported quarterly earnings of $4.28 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations, and had a revenue of $63.21 billion, reflecting an 8% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $5.20 and a yield of 0.56%.

First Foundation Advisors lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,222 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the quarter. First Foundation Advisors' holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $14,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the 4th 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 last quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,095,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $241,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of COST traded up $14.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $952.36. The stock had a trading volume of 2,910,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,213,465. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The business's fifty day moving average is $984.46 and its 200 day moving average is $983.58. The firm has a market cap of $422.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.02, a P/E/G ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% 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 Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.