Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Position Boosted by TruWealth Advisors LLC

TruWealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,390 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 678 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 2.1% of TruWealth Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. TruWealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $35,362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $40.88 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $1,010.81. The company had a trading volume of 3,286,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,055,892. The firm has a market capitalization of $448.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $991.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $978.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 30.36%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday. DA Davidson increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,035.32.

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.