Thomas Story & Son LLC Has $18.56 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Thomas Story & Son LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 1.7%, owning 19,626 shares valued at $18.56 million, making it the firm's second-largest holding.
• Costco recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, which will be distributed on August 15th, representing an annualized payout of $5.20 and a dividend yield of 0.5%.
• Despite recent insider selling, Costco has received a favorable consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a price target averaging around $1,050.00.

Thomas Story & Son LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,626 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 7.2% of Thomas Story & Son LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Thomas Story & Son LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $18,561,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,436,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. F&V Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $3,095,000. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at $241,000. Finally, Gateway Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,380 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,305,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $988.74 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $976.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $985.77. The company has a market capitalization of $438.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.08, a PEG ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $852.40 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Evercore ISI cut their price target 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. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.

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