HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Decreases Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,910 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 58 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,535,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SRN Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,823,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Peninsula Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 818 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bosun Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $986.54 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $437.51 billion, a PE ratio of 55.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $1,004.32 and a 200 day moving average of $981.29.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. 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.