Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,704 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,817,573,000 after acquiring an additional 587,303 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 79.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 775,541 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $710,624,000 after purchasing an additional 343,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $280,046,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of COST opened at $935.48 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $414.87 billion, a PE ratio of 53.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $992.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $983.45. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.