Drake & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 21.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,901 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 522 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 0.8% of Drake & Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Drake & Associates LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $5,182,316,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,817,573,000 after purchasing an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Truist Financial raised their price objective 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,034.79.
Read Our Latest Research Report on COST
Costco Wholesale Stock Performance
Shares of COST stock traded down $6.34 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $985.84. 1,714,765 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,073,564. The firm has a market capitalization of $437.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.92, a PEG ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $1,005.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $981.65. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $793.00 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.
Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale
In other 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 transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.
Costco Wholesale Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
Before you consider Costco Wholesale, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Costco Wholesale wasn't on the list.
While Costco Wholesale currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
With the proliferation of data centers and electric vehicles, the electric grid will only get more strained. Download this report to learn how energy stocks can play a role in your portfolio as the global demand for energy continues to grow.
Get This Free Report
