Arlington Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Arlington Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,445 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.0% of Arlington Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Arlington Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.5%

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $4.53 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $936.66. The stock had a trading volume of 452,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,206,850. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $995.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $983.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $415.39 billion, a PE ratio of 53.13, a P/E/G ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $793.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,037.48.

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.