Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Stokes Capital Advisors LLC

Stokes Capital Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 13.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,813 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,688 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 2.6% of Stokes Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,035.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $1,014.94 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $450.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.60, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $993.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $979.31.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.