Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by Capital Investment Counsel Inc

Capital Investment Counsel Inc increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,594 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,530 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 8.9% of Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $59,154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Vima LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $824.50.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST traded up $3.85 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $876.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,102,741 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,977,805. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $530.56 and a 52 week high of $896.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $388.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $849.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $785.52.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.43 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,249,526 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.