Weaver Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 6.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,961 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 282 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 1.2% of Weaver Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Weaver Capital Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts have commented on COST shares. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.
Get Our Latest Report on Costco Wholesale
Costco Wholesale Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $980.29 on Friday. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $1,002.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $981.03. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market cap of $434.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.00.
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, 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 firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.
Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale
In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company'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 now directly owns 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,547 shares of company stock valued at $11,361,265 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
About Costco Wholesale
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Free Report)
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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