Costello Asset Management INC Invests $1.74 Million in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Costello Asset Management INC acquired 1,838 shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation, valued at approximately $1.7 million, marking their new stake in the retail giant.
• Significant increases in holdings by other investors include a 106,402.1% boost in shares by GAMMA Investing LLC, bringing their total to over 8.16 million shares worth nearly $7.72 billion.
• Costco plans to distribute a quarterly $1.30 dividend on August 15th to shareholders of record, reflecting a 0.5% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,838 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,738,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COST. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.4% during the first 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 in the last quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,095,000. Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $241,000. Finally, Gateway Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,380 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,305,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $24.93 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $968.56. 2,749,279 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,231,179. 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 12-month low of $809.26 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $980.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $984.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $429.54 billion, a PE ratio of 54.94, a P/E/G ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 0.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 transaction, the director directly owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.