Liberty Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Liberty Wealth Management LLC has significantly increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12,450.4%, acquiring an additional 109,688 shares, making Costco about 1.9% of their investment portfolio.
• Several research analysts have given Costco a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $1,037.48, indicating strong confidence in the company's performance.
• Costco recently announced a $1.30 quarterly dividend, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 0.5%, with payout expected on August 15th.

Liberty Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 12,450.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,569 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 109,688 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 1.9% of Liberty Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Liberty Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $104,574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 45.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 117,254 shares of the retailer's stock worth $107,436,000 after buying an additional 36,384 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 4,813 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,410,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,501 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,789,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on COST. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on 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. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 transaction, the director directly owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded down $11.74 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $943.63. 2,459,845 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,220,393. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $805.06 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $982.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $984.78. The stock has a market cap of $418.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.92 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio 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.