Xcel Wealth Management LLC Acquires 980 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Xcel Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 64.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,499 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 980 shares during the period. Xcel Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Miramar Capital LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer's stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 818 shares of the retailer's stock worth $749,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer's stock worth $583,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lifeworks Advisors LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 895 shares of the retailer's stock worth $820,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST traded up $3.91 on Friday, hitting $986.27. 1,101,351 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,074,110. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $793.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1,005.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $981.20. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $437.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.94, a PEG ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.