Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Cresset Asset Management LLC

Cresset Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,771 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,089 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $36,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP now owns 796 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $753,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at about $222,000. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,097 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 14,427 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,646,000 after purchasing an additional 1,428 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director directly owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, August 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $972.04 on Friday. 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 52-week low of $867.16 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $972.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $985.92. The company has a market capitalization of $431.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 0.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued 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 company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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%.

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.