FCG Investment Co Increases Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• FCG Investment Co raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.7%, adding 434 shares to reach a total of 3,597 shares, which are now valued at approximately $3.4 million.
• Institutional investors collectively own 68.48% of Costco's stock, with notable transactions including GAMMA Investing's increase of holdings by 106,402.1%.
• Costco's latest earnings report revealed an EPS of $4.28, exceeding estimates and marking an 8% year-over-year revenue increase to $63.21 billion.

FCG Investment Co increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 13.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,597 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 434 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 2.1% of FCG Investment Co's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. FCG Investment Co's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of COST. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st 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 period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at $3,461,159,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after acquiring an additional 587,303 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $40,332,515,000 after acquiring an additional 443,101 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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 report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,050.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $24.17 during trading on Thursday, hitting $970.40. 1,184,560 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,200,721. The company has a market cap of $430.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.05, a PEG ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.16 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $971.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $986.14. 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 (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 for 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%. The business's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend 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.