James J. Burns & Company LLC Acquires New Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

James J. Burns & Company LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 554 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $471,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,916,118,000 after acquiring an additional 473,702 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $3,628,694,000. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.1% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,802,147,000 after acquiring an additional 285,533 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,794,480 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,844,581,000 after acquiring an additional 85,398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,657,994 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,754,489,000 after acquiring an additional 77,345 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $14.64 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $877.35. 1,921,167 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,990,293. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $847.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $780.08. The company has a market cap of $388.96 billion, a PE ratio of 54.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.78. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $530.56 and a 12 month high of $896.67.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $925.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $676.00 price objective (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $824.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $20,015,745. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $20,015,745. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,970 shares of company stock worth $4,249,526. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.