Merrion Investment Management Co LLC Has $872,000 Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Merrion Investment Management Co LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 19.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,190 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 190 shares during the quarter. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of COST traded down $0.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $849.99. 2,131,691 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,840,321. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $801.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $739.95. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $376.83 billion, a PE ratio of 52.66, a PEG ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.79. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $524.63 and a 52 week high of $873.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $875.00 target price (up from $800.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. Barclays boosted their price target 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, Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $756.85.

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.