Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. Buys Shares of 647 Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 647 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $612,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $40,332,515,000 after buying an additional 443,101 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after buying an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after buying an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,990,957 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,656,828,000 after buying an additional 18,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,695,796,000 after buying an additional 191,985 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,050.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $991.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $975.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $985.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $439.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.23, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $856.16 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

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