KilterHowling LLC Purchases Shares of 680 Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• KilterHowling LLC has acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale Corporation, purchasing 680 shares valued at approximately $686,000, which makes up about 0.4% of their portfolio.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and GAMMA Investing LLC, have significantly increased their positions in Costco during the first quarter, indicating strong interest in the company.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $5.20 with a yield of 0.6%, highlighting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

KilterHowling LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 680 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $686,000. Costco Wholesale comprises 0.4% of KilterHowling LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on COST. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of 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. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,050.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,147 shares of company stock worth $10,067,740 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded down $4.56 during trading on Thursday, hitting $944.96. 2,066,238 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,332,416. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $967.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $982.55. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.16 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The company has a market cap of $419.07 billion, a PE ratio of 53.60, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. 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 payout ratio is 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.