TCTC Holdings LLC Buys 966 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 19.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,048 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 966 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.4% in the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,436,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,901,249,000 after acquiring an additional 252,118 shares during the period. F&V Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth about $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth about $3,095,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth about $241,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on COST. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of 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. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $933.99 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The company’s 50 day moving average is $990.03 and its 200 day moving average is $984.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $414.21 billion, a PE ratio of 52.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 over the last 90 days. 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.