Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Klingman & Associates LLC

Klingman & Associates LLC lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,068 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 19 shares during the quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Dagco Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.5% during the first quarter. Dagco Inc. now owns 511 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Thomas Story & Son LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the first quarter. Thomas Story & Son LLC now owns 19,626 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,561,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.3% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 356,152 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $336,813,000 after purchasing an additional 14,623 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.1% during the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 178,153 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $168,092,000 after purchasing an additional 10,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Telligent Fund LP raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.4% during the first quarter. Telligent Fund LP now owns 4,700 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,445,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.3%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $991.25 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $439.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $856.16 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $975.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $985.81.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,050.00.

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.