May Barnhard Investments LLC Raises Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

May Barnhard Investments LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 559 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. May Barnhard Investments LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $529,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 10,156 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,937,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. Farrell Financial LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.2% in the first quarter. Farrell Financial LLC now owns 522 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $493,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,082 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $23,722,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Defined Financial Planning LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 31.1% during the 1st quarter. Defined Financial Planning LLC now owns 388 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 4,335 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,100,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $10,825,205. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.0%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $996.78 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $996.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $980.41. The company has a market capitalization of $442.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $793.00 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 29.50%.

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.