Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Has $37.28 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd has reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 3.1%, now holding 39,425 shares valued at approximately $37.28 million, making it Costco's 12th largest holding.
• Costco recently reported earnings per share of $4.28, exceeding analyst estimates, with revenue increasing by 8.0% year-over-year to $63.21 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.56%, to be paid on August 15, 2023.

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,425 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,262 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.9% of Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $37,277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $933.99 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $414.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $793.00 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $990.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $984.21.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

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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