Howland Capital Management LLC Purchases 638 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Howland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Costco by 6.9% in Q1, owning 9,904 shares valued at approximately $9.37 million.
• Costco recently reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, surpassing estimates, with revenue of $63.21 billion, an increase of 8.0% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, which will be paid on August 15th, representing an annual yield of 0.6%.

Howland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 6.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,904 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the period. Howland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 117,254 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $107,436,000 after acquiring an additional 36,384 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 4,813 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,410,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,501 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,789,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.4%

NASDAQ COST traded up $12.88 on Friday, reaching $952.52. The company had a trading volume of 2,932,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,019,283. The stock has a market capitalization of $422.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.03, a P/E/G ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.96. The company's fifty day moving average is $983.34 and its 200 day moving average is $983.82. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. 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 (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. 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 posted $3.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.