Everest Management Corp. Sells 37 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Everest Management Corp. decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 376 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 37 shares during the quarter. Everest Management Corp.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on COST. Mizuho began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,006.18 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $446.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.08, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $793.00 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $994.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $980.11.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its 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 return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,000 shares of company stock worth $7,816,895 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.