Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC Reduces Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,085 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 341 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.1% of Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Tuttle Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 10.4% in the first quarter. Tuttle Capital Management LLC now owns 582 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 1,539 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,455,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 22,379 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $21,166,000 after acquiring an additional 2,554 shares during the last quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 536 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newport Capital Group LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 18.2% in the 1st quarter. Newport Capital Group LLC now owns 260 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $990.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $439.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.15, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1,000.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $980.96. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $793.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 29.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,035.32.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,825,205. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.