Yousif Capital Management LLC Has $55.52 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,705 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 476 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.6% of Yousif Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $55,522,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Collier Financial acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of COST opened at $1,006.18 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $994.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $980.11. The company has a market capitalization of $446.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.08, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of 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. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,035.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,816,895. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.