Stony Point Capital LLC Acquires 9,222 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Stony Point Capital LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 122.7% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 9,222 shares for a total of 16,737 shares valued at approximately $15.83 million.
• Costco reported quarterly earnings of $4.28 EPS, exceeding estimates, and revenue of $63.21 billion, reflecting an 8.0% year-over-year growth.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.6%, and maintains a dividend payout ratio of 29.50%.

Stony Point Capital LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 122.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,737 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 9,222 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.6% of Stony Point Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Stony Point Capital LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $15,830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 101.7% in the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 42,981 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $40,656,000 after purchasing an additional 21,669 shares in the last quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 495.0% in the 1st quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 601 shares of the retailer's stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 35.8% in the 1st quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 235 shares of the retailer's stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $276,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Graney & King LLC now owns 162 shares of the retailer's stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.5%

COST stock opened at $944.96 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $967.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $982.55. The company has a market capitalization of $419.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $867.16 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company'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 sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,147 shares of company stock worth $10,067,740. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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 report on Friday, May 30th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,050.00.

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.

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.