Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) is Woodstock Corp’s 9th Largest Position

Woodstock Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,471 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 2.1% of Woodstock Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Woodstock Corp’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $21,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,823,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $1,048.78 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $983.85 and a 200-day moving average of $975.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $465.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.58, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.36%.

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.