Brookstone Capital Management Has $15.32 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Brookstone Capital Management cut its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 16,193 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,255 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $15,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Aspect Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on COST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $986.27 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,005.20 and a 200-day moving average of $981.08. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company has a market cap of $437.39 billion, a PE ratio of 55.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.