Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Matrix Trust Co

Matrix Trust Co decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,451 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 40 shares during the quarter. Matrix Trust Co’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital & Planning LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,441,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares in the last quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,214,000. May Barnhard Investments LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $485,000. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,852 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,529,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented 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 decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,051.69 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $466.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.76, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $991.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $978.09.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 30.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.