Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Has $20.97 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC reduced its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,168 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 628 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.5% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $20,966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,597 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,510,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,728 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,580,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Atwood & Palmer Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 1,754 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,659,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Moseley Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Moseley Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,539 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,401,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 48,086 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $45,479,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,825,205. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,007.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $446.70 billion, a PE ratio of 59.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $793.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The business’s 50-day moving average is $995.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $980.29.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. Research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on COST. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,035.32.

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.