Vision Capital Management Inc. Raises Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Vision Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.2%, bringing its total shares to 11,242, valued at over $11 million.
• Costco reported $5.87 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates, and achieved 8.1% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Recent insider transactions show executives selling shares, with EVP Teresa A. Jones selling 600 shares at an average price of $992.05.

Vision Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 12.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,242 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 1,221 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.5% of Vision Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Vision Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $11,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Corps Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer's stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $404,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the first quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 866 shares of the retailer's stock worth $819,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $943.31 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $956.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $970.87. The stock has a market cap of $418.34 billion, a PE ratio of 53.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.31 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $867.16 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.15 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,061.30.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.