Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) is Emerald Advisors LLC's Largest Position

Emerald Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 647,523 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 4,013 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 81.4% of Emerald Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest position. Emerald Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Costco Wholesale worth $612,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. May Barnhard Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $485,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 188 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 117,254 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $107,436,000 after acquiring an additional 36,384 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company's 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 sale, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock traded down $3.98 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $985.96. The stock had a trading volume of 2,198,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,074,236. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $437.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.93, a PEG ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $1,004.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $981.06.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. Costco Wholesale's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,034.79.

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.