OneAscent Financial Services LLC Grows Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

OneAscent Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 20.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,151 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $950.95 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $421.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.94, a P/E/G ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $998.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $983.13.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. 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.

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