FSA Advisors Inc. Invests $255,000 in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• FSA Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco, purchasing 270 shares valued at approximately $255,000 in the 1st quarter.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions in Costco, with 68.48% of the company's stock now owned by institutional investors.
• Costco recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with a payout ratio of 29.50% and a yield of 0.56%.

FSA Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 270 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 432,534 shares of the retailer's stock worth $409,082,000 after acquiring an additional 16,788 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 44.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 14,536 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $13,747,000 after purchasing an additional 4,466 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 34.2% in the first quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 518 shares of the retailer's stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 6,048 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,720,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares during the period. Finally, Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,304 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,291,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:COST traded down $7.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $927.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,682,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,941,458. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $411.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.61, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.97. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $986.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $983.48.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Loop Capital dropped their target price 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. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

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.