Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC Buys 5,513 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC significantly boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 2,259.4% during the 1st quarter, acquiring an additional 5,513 shares, bringing its total to 5,757 shares valued at around $5.45 million.
• Costco reported a 4.28 EPS for the latest quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate, with revenues of $63.21 billion, marking an 8.0% year-over-year increase.
• The retailer declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, representing a 0.5% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2,259.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,757 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 5,513 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 2.3% of Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Bosun Asset Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the first quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 8.6% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,437 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,163,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the retailer's stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $972.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $431.08 billion, a PE ratio of 55.14, a PEG ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 0.96. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $972.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $985.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.16 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,050.00.

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.

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