Patron Partners LLC Has $6.05 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Patron Partners LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.7% in Q2, now holding over $6 million worth of shares, making Costco its 6th largest holding.
• Institutional investors own approximately 68.48% of Costco's stock, indicating significant institutional interest in the company.
• Costco recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $5.20 and a yield of 0.6%.

Patron Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 7.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,107 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 3.0% of Patron Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Patron Partners LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,045,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on COST. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Truist Financial increased 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 report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,061.30.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of COST opened at $943.31 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.16 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The company has a market cap of $418.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.51, a P/E/G ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $956.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $970.87.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.15 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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