Csenge Advisory Group Grows Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Csenge Advisory Group grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 6.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,221 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Aspect Partners LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST traded down $2.96 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $950.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,110,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,067,454. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $998.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $983.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $421.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

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.