Martingale Asset Management L P Has $39.93 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Martingale Asset Management L P reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.5%, now holding 42,214 shares valued at approximately $39.93 million, making it the firm's 17th largest holding.
• In the most recent quarter, Costco reported earnings of $4.28 EPS, surpassing estimates, with an 8% year-over-year revenue increase to $63.21 billion.
• Costco declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, equating to an annualized dividend yield of 0.5%, with a current payout ratio of 29.5%.

Martingale Asset Management L P lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 42,214 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,001 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.0% of Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $39,925,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. PGIM Custom Harvest LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 49.2% in the 1st quarter. PGIM Custom Harvest LLC now owns 5,155 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,876,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.3% during the first quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 1,121 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,060,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC now owns 356 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,718 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,517,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GDS Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.0% in the 1st quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 8,250 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,803,000 after purchasing an additional 2,440 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.4%

COST opened at $994.57 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $971.14 and a 200-day moving average of $986.14. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.16 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $441.07 billion, a PE ratio of 56.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm'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 sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. 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 report on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective 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. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,050.00.

About Costco Wholesale

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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