Mattern Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Mattern Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,083 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,066 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 1.7% of Mattern Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Mattern Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,665,921,000 after buying an additional 149,209 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,717,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,182,316,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of COST opened at $986.54 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $437.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.96, a PEG ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $793.00 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $1,004.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $981.29. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company 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 yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target 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. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,034.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950. Corporate 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.