Vident Advisory LLC Has $40.66 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC significantly increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 101.7% during the first quarter, bringing its holdings to approximately $40.66 million in value.
• Costco recently reported a quarterly EPS of $4.28, surpassing expectations, and an 8.0% increase in revenue year-over-year, totaling $63.21 billion.
• The company announced a $1.30 quarterly dividend, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 0.6%, with a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 101.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,981 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 21,669 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $40,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COST. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth about $3,461,159,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $95,452,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock worth $40,332,515,000 after purchasing an additional 443,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 84.0% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 812,188 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $768,114,000 after buying an additional 370,806 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $944.96 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $419.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $967.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $982.55. 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 1-year low of $867.16 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,147 shares of company stock valued at $10,067,740. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,050.00.

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.

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