Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by HCR Wealth Advisors

HCR Wealth Advisors lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,879 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 88 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.0% of HCR Wealth Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. HCR Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $10,825,205 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.3%

COST opened at $974.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $432.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,002.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $981.12. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 29.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,034.79.

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.