1832 Asset Management L.P. Sells 262,045 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• 1832 Asset Management L.P. has reduced its stake in Costco by 47.1%, selling 262,045 shares, leaving it with approximately 0.07% ownership valued at $277.8 million.
• Costco's stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with analysts setting a price target of about $1,050.00, while institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, resulting in an annualized payout of $5.20 and a yield of 0.5%.

1832 Asset Management L.P. decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 47.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 293,739 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 262,045 shares during the quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. owned approximately 0.07% of Costco Wholesale worth $277,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Monetary Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the first quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 4,230 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,001,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Gould Capital LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 29.4% in the first quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 330 shares of the retailer's stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.8% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,544,958 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,464,850,000 after purchasing an additional 27,491 shares in the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 5.3% in the first quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 78,766 shares of the retailer's stock worth $74,495,000 after purchasing an additional 3,994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CW Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 11.0% in the first quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 62,746 shares of the retailer's stock worth $59,277,000 after purchasing an additional 6,243 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,050.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% 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 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $969.68 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $867.16 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $970.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $985.89. 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 cap of $430.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 0.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%.The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

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.

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