Stiles Financial Services Inc Sells 16 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Stiles Financial Services Inc lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,382 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 16 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 3.0% of Stiles Financial Services Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Stiles Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,647 shares of company stock valued at $10,530,961 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $980.29 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $793.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,002.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $981.03. The company has a market cap of $434.74 billion, a PE ratio of 55.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis 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 currently 29.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on COST. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective 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, June 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.

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.