PUREfi Wealth LLC Decreases Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

PUREfi Wealth LLC lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 349 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 26 shares during the period. PUREfi Wealth LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after buying an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,394,465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519,861 shares during the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $95,452,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after purchasing an additional 587,303 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, 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 transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were 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 owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,825,205. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $974.90 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $1,002.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $981.12. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $793.00 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $432.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. 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 dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,034.79.

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.