Hartmann Taylor Wealth Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Hartmann Taylor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 668 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $632,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,668,069,000 after buying an additional 455,043 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,665,921,000 after buying an additional 149,209 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,717,744,000 after buying an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $5,182,316,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on 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 objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $985.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The stock's 50 day moving average is $1,003.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $981.10. The company has a market capitalization of $436.89 billion, a PE ratio of 55.88, a P/E/G ratio of 5.82 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. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

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