Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Traynor Capital Management Inc.

Traynor Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,266 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Traynor Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Gordon Haskett downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty 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 an average price target of $752.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of COST stock opened at $848.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $376.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.55, a P/E/G ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.79. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $521.26 and a twelve month high of $873.96. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $790.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $734.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.43 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

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.