Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC Increases Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 30.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,605 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. TFB Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 167.7% in the first quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 878 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $18,833,000. RIA Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 6.9% during the first quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,665 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,220,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 10.7% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,353 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,724,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Callan Capital LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 50.5% during the first quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 1,994 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,461,000 after acquiring an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $2.54 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $884.31. The stock had a trading volume of 1,740,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,954,451. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $822.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $750.76. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $526.15 and a twelve month high of $896.67. The firm has a market cap of $392.04 billion, a PE ratio of 54.68, a PEG ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the 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 directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on COST. Argus boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Citigroup upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Barclays upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $700.00 to $765.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Seven investment 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 company currently 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.