WPG Advisers LLC Buys Shares of 292 Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• WPG Advisers LLC recently acquired 292 shares of Costco Wholesale, valued at approximately $276,000, marking the firm's new position in the retailer.
• Costco reported earnings of $4.28 per share for its last quarter, which exceeded analysts' expectations and represented an 8.0% year-over-year revenue growth, with total revenue reaching $63.21 billion.
• Insider activity included significant sales by executives, with EVP Pierre Riel selling 2,000 shares for over $2 million, indicating a notable decrease in ownership.

WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 292 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Graney & King LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Graney & King LLC now owns 162 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $153,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Monterey Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Monterey Private Wealth Inc. now owns 4,036 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,818,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Next Century Growth Investors LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 6,241 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $5,903,000 after buying an additional 531 shares during the period. Oarsman Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 1,350 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,277,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 26,830 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $25,375,000 after buying an additional 588 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business'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 approximately $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,531 shares in the company, 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 sold a total of 10,147 shares of company stock worth $10,067,740 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2%

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $1.64 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $943.32. 1,606,977 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,307,594. The company's fifty day moving average price is $966.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $981.75. The company has a market cap of $418.34 billion, a PE ratio of 53.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $867.16 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%.Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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