Hartline Investment Corp Has $9.19 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Hartline Investment Corp decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,717 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 261 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 1.2% of Hartline Investment Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Hartline Investment Corp's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. May Barnhard Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $485,000. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock worth $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 117,254 shares of the retailer's stock worth $107,436,000 after buying an additional 36,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 4,813 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,410,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial lifted 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. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $986.27 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1,005.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $981.08. The stock has a market cap of $437.39 billion, a PE ratio of 55.94, a PEG ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm 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 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

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.

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