Spirepoint Private Client LLC Raises Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Spirepoint Private Client LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 83.0%, owning 9,062 shares valued at approximately $8.97 million by the end of the quarter.
• Several institutional investors saw significant adjustments in their holdings of Costco, with GAMMA Investing LLC increasing its position by a staggering 106,402.1% during the first quarter.
• Costco's recent quarterly earnings surpassed estimates, reporting an EPS of $5.87, and the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share.

Spirepoint Private Client LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 83.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,062 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 4,110 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 1.0% of Spirepoint Private Client LLC's holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Spirepoint Private Client LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of COST. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after buying an additional 8,152,528 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,461,159,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 418,980.3% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 2,359,422 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,335,686,000 after buying an additional 2,358,859 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $40,332,515,000 after buying an additional 443,101 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 84.0% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 812,188 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $768,114,000 after buying an additional 370,806 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,069.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 2.9%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $915.95 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $867.16 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $955.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $970.76. 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 has a market capitalization of $406.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.30, a PEG ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 31.10%. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.15 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

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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