Fermata Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 22.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,957 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Curated Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 206.9% during the second quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 451 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $383,000 after acquiring an additional 873 shares during the last quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the second quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Thrive Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.0% during the second quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 519 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $441,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Williams & Novak LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Williams & Novak LLC now owns 476 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allied Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 296.9% in the 2nd quarter. Allied Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,139 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $968,000 after acquiring an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock traded up $15.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $854.93. The stock had a trading volume of 1,710,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,297,663. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $379.02 billion, a PE ratio of 52.97, a PEG ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $844.97 and its 200 day moving average is $776.31. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $530.56 and a twelve month high of $896.67.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.43 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $848.53, for a total value of $1,272,795.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,327,041.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,350 shares of company stock valued at $2,837,131 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $920.00 to $915.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Barclays upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $875.00 target price (up from $800.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $821.62.

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.