Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Has $98.27 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 103,903 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 6,794 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 1.1% of Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $98,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,566 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,427,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Harrington Investments INC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the first quarter. Harrington Investments INC now owns 5,416 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $5,122,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. City State Bank increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.3% during the first quarter. City State Bank now owns 2,283 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Radnor Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.5% during the first quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 1,492 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,411,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Disciplined Investments LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $286,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,600 shares of company stock worth $11,168,495 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $8.76 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $1,006.18. 1,694,392 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,056,696. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $793.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $994.50 and a 200 day moving average of $980.11. The firm has a market cap of $446.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.08, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted 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 the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Costco Wholesale's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,035.32.

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.