Howland Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Howland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,904 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 638 shares during the quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.2% in the first quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,598 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,470,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Momentous Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Momentous Wealth Management Inc. now owns 818 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Invictus Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Invictus Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,154 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $49,326,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Pasadena Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 269.1% in the 1st quarter. Pasadena Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 11.5% during the first quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 1,592 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,506,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.3%

COST stock opened at $939.64 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $984.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $983.58. The company has a market capitalization of $416.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $793.00 and a 52 week 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 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 firm 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 in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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 issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the business’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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised 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 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. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,037.48.

About Costco Wholesale

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.