Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 443,101 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 1.0%, owning approximately 42.6 million shares valued at $40.3 billion, making it one of the fund's largest positions.
• Costco recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, scheduled for payment on August 15th, with a dividend yield of 0.6% and a payout ratio of 29.50%.
• Insider trading activities included significant sales by executives, including EVP Patrick J. Callans, who sold 3,000 shares for over $3 million, indicating a 4.87% decrease in their ownership.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 443,101 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.7% of Vanguard Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.61% of Costco Wholesale worth $40,332,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Peninsula Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 818 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Bosun Asset Management LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $583,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Corps Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,463,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. NFP Retirement Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. now owns 980 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $898,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,437 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,163,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Truist Financial increased their target price 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,040.81.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale 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 transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $8.89 on Thursday, hitting $977.45. The company had a trading volume of 1,889,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,222,700. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $820.45 and a 1 year 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $979.28 and a 200-day moving average of $984.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $433.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.44, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. Costco Wholesale's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

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.