one8zero8 LLC Purchases 297 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• one8zero8 LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 7.0%, holding a total of 4,561 shares valued at $4,314,000, making it the firm's 20th largest position.
• Several hedge funds have significantly changed their positions in Costco, including GAMMA Investing LLC, which raised its stake by 106,402.1%, bringing their total to 8,160,190 shares worth approximately $7.72 billion.
• Costco Wholesale announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.56%, demonstrating continued financial strength despite recent insider selling activity.

one8zero8 LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,561 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.0% of one8zero8 LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. one8zero8 LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.8% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 198,392 shares of the retailer's stock worth $187,635,000 after acquiring an additional 14,293 shares in the last quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the first quarter. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,226,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 39.1% in the first quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 505 shares of the retailer's stock worth $510,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 15,270 shares of the retailer's stock worth $14,442,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.2% in the first quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 1,204 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on COST. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,037.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded down $1.49 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $933.99. The company had a trading volume of 2,004,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,954,258. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $992.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $984.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $414.21 billion, a PE ratio of 54.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business 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 $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

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.