Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Has $8.57 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 8.1%, bringing its holdings to 9,056 shares valued at approximately $8.57 million.
• Costco reported a quarterly earnings of $4.28 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations and showcasing an 8% year-over-year revenue growth, totaling $63.21 billion for the quarter.
• The company's recent dividend announcement includes a quarterly payment of $1.30 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 0.56% and a payout ratio of 29.5%.

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 8.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,056 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 676 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,665,921,000 after purchasing an additional 149,209 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after purchasing an additional 587,303 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,990,957 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,656,828,000 after purchasing an additional 18,897 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $14.68 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $953.02. 1,800,021 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,209,510. The company has a market cap of $422.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.97. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $984.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $983.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $793.00 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.