Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Tributary Capital Management LLC

Tributary Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 18.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 685 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 155 shares during the quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $648,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 3,278 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,101,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,642,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 752 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $712,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Napatree Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.9% in the 1st quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 446 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.7%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $951.37 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,001.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $982.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $421.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.96, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 29.50%.

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.