Main Street Research LLC Has $58.60 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Main Street Research LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,955 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 663 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 3.8% of Main Street Research LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Main Street Research LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $58,596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Topsail Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.2% during the first quarter. Topsail Wealth Management LLC now owns 350 shares of the retailer's stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.2% during the first quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 8,305 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,855,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. Court Place Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the first quarter. Court Place Advisors LLC now owns 1,240 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during the first quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 7,742 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,323,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 126.6% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 247 shares of the retailer's stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were 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 directly owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 three months, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.0%

NASDAQ:COST traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $970.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,939,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,068,105. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $793.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $1,004.53 and its 200 day moving average is $981.82. The stock has a market cap of $430.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.04, a PEG ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on COST. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.

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.