Empire Life Investments Inc. Has $17.36 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Empire Life Investments Inc. reduced its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 13.6% in Q1, now owning 18,359 shares worth approximately $17.36 million.
• Analyst ratings are mixed, with some firms like Morgan Stanley raising their price target to $1,225.00, while Evercore ISI lowered theirs to $1,060.00.
• Costco recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with a payout ratio of 29.50%, to be paid on August 15th to shareholders of record as of August 1st.

Empire Life Investments Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 13.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,359 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,883 shares during the quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $17,364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on COST. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.4%

COST stock opened at $952.52 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $793.00 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $983.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $984.69. 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 company has a market cap of $422.42 billion, a PE ratio of 54.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.96.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.

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