Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Leeward Financial Partners LLC

Key Points

• Leeward Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in Costco by 6.9% in Q1, now owning 5,294 shares valued at approximately $5 million.
• Costco recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with an annualized payout of $5.20, representing a dividend yield of 0.6%.
• Costco's stock saw a 12-month high of $1,078.23, even as several analysts downgraded ratings, impacting its average target price to $1,037.48.

Leeward Financial Partners LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 6.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,294 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.9% of Leeward Financial Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Leeward Financial Partners LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during 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 period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,040.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of COST traded up $8.89 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $977.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,889,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,222,700. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $979.28 and its 200-day moving average is $984.62. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $820.45 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $433.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.44, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The company 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 revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

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.