Drake & Associates LLC Boosts Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Drake & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 21.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,901 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.8% of Drake & Associates LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Drake & Associates LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,744,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $59,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% 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 three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $986.27 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $1,005.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $981.38. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $793.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market cap of $437.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.94, a P/E/G ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Costco Wholesale 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.