Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Costco from 718 shares to 318 shares, a cut of 55.7%, as reported in its latest SEC filing.
• Despite the reduction by Twin Lakes, other institutional investors such as GAMMA Investing LLC significantly increased their positions, with an increase of 106,402.1% in Q1.
• Costco recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $5.20 and a yield of 0.5%.

Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 55.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 318 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth approximately $61,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $3.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $967.90. 1,460,154 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,950,274. The stock has a market cap of $429.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.90, a P/E/G ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.97. 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 12-month low of $867.16 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $960.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $975.04.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. The trade was 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 this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,147 shares of company stock valued at $5,031,130 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,056.67.

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.