Maverick Capital Ltd. Has $10.80 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 374.6% in the 1st quarter, now owning shares worth $10.80 million.
• Costco's recent quarterly earnings showed earnings per share of $4.28, surpassing analyst estimates, with a revenue of $63.21 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, yielding approximately 0.6% annually, with a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 374.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,415 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 9,010 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bosun Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer's stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,463,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $404,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in 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 last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,147 shares of company stock valued at $10,067,740 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $943.32 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $966.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $980.51. The stock has a market cap of $418.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.51, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.16 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on COST. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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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