Ieq Capital LLC Raises Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 8.3% during Q1, now holding 74,679 shares valued at approximately $70.63 million.
• Multiple hedge funds, including Warwick Investment Management Inc. and Redwood Investment Management LLC, have boosted their positions in Costco during the same period, demonstrating strong institutional interest.
• Costco's stock performance showed a 12-month revenue increase of 8.0%, with earnings per share (EPS) reported at $4.28, exceeding analysts' expectations.

Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 8.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,679 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 5,734 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.6% of Ieq Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $70,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Warwick Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 21.9% in the 1st quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. now owns 401 shares of the retailer's stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 39.0% in the 1st quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 2,228 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,107,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 7,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,800,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 688 shares of the retailer's stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $12,970,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST traded down $4.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $944.96. 2,066,238 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,332,416. The stock has a market capitalization of $419.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company's fifty day moving average price is $967.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $982.55. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $867.16 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share 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 net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective 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. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,050.00.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,147 shares of company stock worth $10,067,740 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.