McDonough Capital Management Inc Buys 352 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

McDonough Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 7.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,837 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 3.0% of McDonough Capital Management Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. McDonough Capital Management Inc's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,665,921,000 after buying an additional 149,209 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,717,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,182,316,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,825,205. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $5.93 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $1,002.71. 1,717,246 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,061,807. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company has a market cap of $444.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.88, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $996.91 and a 200 day moving average of $980.41.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm 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 firm posted $3.78 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,035.32.

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.