Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC Purchases 322 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Costco by 16.2% in Q1, owning 2,304 shares valued at approximately $2.29 million.
• Several other hedge funds also raised their positions in Costco during the last quarter, with institutional investors now owning 68.48% of the company's stock.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, scheduled to be paid on August 15, reflecting an annual yield of 0.56%.

Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 16.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,304 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 1.4% of Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares during the period. F&V Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth $3,095,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at $241,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Evercore ISI cut their price target on 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. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital cut 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.5%

COST stock traded up $14.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $952.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,800,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,209,510. The stock has a market cap of $422.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.08, a PEG ratio of 5.77 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 company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $984.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $983.58.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. 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 payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the firm's 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 of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% 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 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.