Horizon Investments LLC Boosts Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.6%, owning 7,141 shares valued at approximately $6.7 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Costco recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, indicating a 0.5% yield and a payout ratio of 29.5%.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Costco, with estimates now ranging from $1,035 to $1,225 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,141 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,745,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 10.3% during the first quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 3,200 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,026,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Waypoint Wealth Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.3% during the first quarter. Waypoint Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,446 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,367,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 30.1% during the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 21,026 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $19,887,000 after buying an additional 4,861 shares during the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 5.0% during the first quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 19,943 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,862,000 after buying an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 79.0% during the first quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 8,902 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,419,000 after buying an additional 3,928 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,050.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $3.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $972.04. 1,637,627 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,147,194. The company has a market cap of $431.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.14, a PEG ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $972.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $986.08. 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 12-month low of $867.16 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for 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%. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.