Redwood Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Redwood Investment Management LLC has increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 39%, owning 2,228 shares valued at approximately $2.1 million.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30, yielding 0.6%, with a payout ratio of 29.50%.
• In its latest earnings report, Costco surpassed expectations with an EPS of $4.28 and revenue of $63.21 billion, marking an 8% year-over-year increase.

Redwood Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 39.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,228 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 625 shares during the period. Redwood Investment Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 7,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,800,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 688 shares of the retailer's stock worth $651,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth $12,970,000. Orion Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 28.6% in the 1st quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC now owns 2,401 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,271,000 after buying an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, South Plains Financial Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 544 shares of the retailer's stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $941.58 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day moving average is $968.99 and its 200 day moving average is $983.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $867.16 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market cap of $417.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.41, a PEG ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 0.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. 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 earned $3.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of 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. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,050.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,147 shares of company stock valued at $10,067,740. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale 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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