Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Acquired by Connective Capital Management LLC

Connective Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 76.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,526 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,955 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 3.9% of Connective Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Connective Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after buying an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $3,461,159,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after acquiring an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $40,332,515,000 after acquiring an additional 443,101 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,147 shares of company stock worth $10,067,740. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $958.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $425.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $867.16 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $969.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $984.60.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. 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 company earned $3.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,050.00.

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.