Next Century Growth Investors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Next Century Growth Investors LLC increased its holdings in Costco by 9.3%, now owning shares valued at $5.90 million, following the purchase of additional shares in the first quarter.
• Analysts have mixed views on Costco, with Evercore ISI lowering its target price to $1,060 while 17 analysts currently rate the stock a Buy and 10 a Hold, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Costco recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30, resulting in a 0.5% yield on an annualized payout of $5.20.

Next Century Growth Investors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,241 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 531 shares during the quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,903,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded down $1.64 on Friday, reaching $943.32. 1,606,977 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,307,594. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $867.16 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The company has a market cap of $418.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.96. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $966.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $981.17.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 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 the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Morgan Stanley boosted 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 research note on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,050.00.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% 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 three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.