Patron Partners LLC Raises Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Patron Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,380 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 2.4% of Patron Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Patron Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Whittier Trust Co. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 58,086 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,555,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. Integrity Financial Corp WA increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 41.3% in the 1st quarter. Integrity Financial Corp WA now owns 1,033 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $757,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 39.5% in the 1st quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 14,053 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,296,000 after acquiring an additional 3,976 shares in the last quarter. Smart Money Group LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 51.7% in the 1st quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 728 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 989 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $725,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of COST stock traded up $6.01 on Tuesday, hitting $886.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,356,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,956,172. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $819.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $749.24. The company has a market cap of $393.17 billion, a PE ratio of 55.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 0.78. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $525.06 and a one year high of $896.67.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on COST. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $860.00 to $890.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $766.73.

About Costco Wholesale

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.