Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by Great Waters Wealth Management

Great Waters Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,761 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.2% of Great Waters Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Great Waters Wealth Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Stanich Group LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares in the last quarter. RW Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. RW Investment Management LLC now owns 5,624 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,153,000 after buying an additional 989 shares in the last quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management now owns 10,536 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,654,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Washburn Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Washburn Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,140 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,877,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,014.94 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $450.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.60, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $993.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $979.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on COST. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,035.32.

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.