Stone House Investment Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale, purchasing 264 shares valued at around $250,000 during the first quarter of 2023.
• Costco reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.28, exceeding analyst expectations, and achieved a revenue of $63.21 billion, reflecting an 8% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, which will be paid to stockholders on August 15th, with a current annualized dividend yield of 0.5%.

Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 264 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $250,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Loop Capital reduced 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. 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. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of COST traded up $2.51 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $991.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,587,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,215,102. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $975.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $985.81. 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 firm has a market cap of $439.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $856.16 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during 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 firm's revenue 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.