Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. Boosts Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 17.6%, acquiring an additional 629 shares to reach a total of 4,193 shares valued at approximately $3,965,000.
• Costco's stock has received mixed analyst ratings, with fifteen analysts issuing buy ratings and ten giving hold ratings, leading to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $1,050.00.
• Costco has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 to be paid on August 15th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. grew its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 17.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,193 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 629 shares during the quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,965,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on COST. Truist Financial upped 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. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $2.51 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $991.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,587,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,215,102. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $856.16 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The company has a market capitalization of $439.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.23, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $975.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $985.81.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of 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 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 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Costco Wholesale

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.