TRUE Private Wealth Advisors Grows Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

TRUE Private Wealth Advisors grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,717 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 0.7% of TRUE Private Wealth Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,916,118,000 after acquiring an additional 473,702 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,628,694,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.1% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,802,147,000 after purchasing an additional 285,533 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,794,480 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,844,581,000 after purchasing an additional 85,398 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,657,994 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,754,489,000 after buying an additional 77,345 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST traded down $2.53 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $862.29. The stock had a trading volume of 718,930 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,986,960. The company has a market capitalization of $382.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $530.56 and a 12-month high of $896.67. The company’s 50-day moving average is $846.68 and its 200 day moving average is $779.49.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. StockNews.com upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 2nd. Argus increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $824.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,350 shares of company stock worth $2,837,131 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.