HM Payson & Co. Has $1.99 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

HM Payson & Co. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,717 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,990,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COST. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased 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 buying 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 $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on COST shares. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 price target (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $900.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, July 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $805.46.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 directly owns 10,992 shares in the company, valued at $9,327,041.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,350 shares of company stock worth $2,837,131. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded up $5.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $822.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,598,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,182,416. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $530.56 and a 12-month high of $896.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $843.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $771.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $364.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.93, a PEG ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.43 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

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.