Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,869 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 286 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 0.9% of GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,825,205. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on COST. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $996.78 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $442.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.53, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $996.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $980.41. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $793.00 and a 52 week 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.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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