R Squared Ltd Makes New Investment in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,510 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,413,000. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.7% of R Squared Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,388,519 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,919,573,000 after acquiring an additional 26,690 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,523,423 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,212,433,000 after purchasing an additional 107,775 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 11.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,515,031 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,488,203,000 after purchasing an additional 773,651 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,278.0% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,726,899 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $672,690,000 after purchasing an additional 6,720,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 838.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,125,405 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,282,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,472,968 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $971.40 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $430.80 billion, a PE ratio of 48.86, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.87. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $844.06 and a twelve month high of $1,096.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $946.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $980.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.94 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $70.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.12 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 28.04%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.28 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th were issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 29.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,100.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,192.00 to $1,194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,088.00 to $1,159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,059.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $957.45, for a total value of $847,343.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,779 shares in the company, valued at $4,575,653.55. This represents a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global chain of membership-only warehouse clubs that sell a wide array of merchandise in bulk at discounted prices. The company’s product mix includes groceries, fresh and frozen food, household goods, electronics, apparel, and seasonal items, augmented by its prominent private-label brand, Kirkland Signature. Costco’s business model centers on annual membership fees and high-volume, low-margin sales, designed to drive repeat purchasing and strong customer loyalty among both consumers and small-business buyers.

Beyond merchandise, Costco provides a range of ancillary services that complement its warehouses, including gasoline stations, pharmacy and optical services, hearing aid centers, photo services, and travel and insurance products.