Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,091 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 294 shares during the quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Aspect Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded down $3.67 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $966.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 831,144 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,079,606. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $793.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The firm's 50 day moving average is $1,004.53 and its 200-day moving average is $981.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $428.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.82, a P/E/G ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.97.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.