Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Stake Lifted by Blankinship & Foster LLC

Blankinship & Foster LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 126.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 724 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Blankinship & Foster LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $685,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.4% in the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,436,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after acquiring an additional 252,118 shares in the last quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at about $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at about $3,095,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at about $241,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of COST stock traded up $1.68 on Friday, hitting $935.48. The stock had a trading volume of 1,825,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,969,335. The firm has a market capitalization of $414.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.06, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.97. The stock's 50 day moving average is $992.04 and its 200-day moving average is $983.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $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 three months, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on COST shares. 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 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital cut 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 report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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.