TCTC Holdings LLC Has $5.72 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 19%, now holding 6,048 shares valued at approximately $5.72 million.
• Analysts have raised Costco's average price target to $1,037.48, with the company receiving a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from research firms.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, set to be paid on August 15th, reflecting a yield of 0.56%.

TCTC Holdings LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 19.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,048 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 966 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first 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 acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in the first 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. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock traded up $14.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $952.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,952,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,210,222. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $793.00 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $422.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.06, a P/E/G ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $984.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $983.58.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on COST. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,037.48.

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.