Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,881 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.1% of Spire Wealth Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Spire Wealth Management's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $32,990,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after buying an additional 455,043 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after acquiring an additional 252,118 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,665,921,000 after purchasing an additional 149,209 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,182,316,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.
Costco Wholesale Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $2.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $985.14. The stock had a trading volume of 2,128,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,073,406. 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 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $436.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,004.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $981.26.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial increased their price target 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. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.
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About Costco Wholesale
(
Free Report)
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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