Sweeney & Michel LLC Purchases Shares of 2,843 Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sweeney & Michel LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,843 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,584,000. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.0% of Sweeney & Michel LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital & Planning LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,441,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares during the last quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,214,000. May Barnhard Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $485,000. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,852 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,529,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of COST stock traded down $36.41 on Thursday, hitting $1,015.28. 1,461,133 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,048,865. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $450.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $991.17 and a 200 day moving average of $978.09. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $793.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on COST. Mizuho began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.