Quantbot Technologies LP Purchases New Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP invested approximately $20 million in Costco Wholesale by purchasing 21,175 shares, making it the firm's 12th largest holding.
• The recent quarterly earnings report showed Costco beat expectations with earnings per share of $4.28 and revenue of $63.21 billion, marking an 8% increase year-over-year.
• Costco declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, yielding 0.5%, and the company has a dividend payout ratio of 29.50%.

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 21,175 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $20,027,000. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.6% of Quantbot Technologies LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bosun Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Corps Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,437 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,163,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.3%

COST stock opened at $972.04 on Monday. 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 has a market capitalization of $431.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.14, a P/E/G ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $972.25 and a 200-day moving average of $986.13. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $867.16 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side 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 was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding COST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.