Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 6,068 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 84,149 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 6,068 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $80,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 40,047 shares of the retailer's stock worth $37,875,000 after acquiring an additional 2,306 shares during the last quarter. Matisse Capital boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Matisse Capital now owns 1,806 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,708,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 58.5% in the first quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 20,884 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $19,751,000 after purchasing an additional 7,705 shares in the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at $1,370,000. Finally, Hartmann Taylor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at $632,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded down $3.98 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $985.96. 2,198,786 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,074,236. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $1,004.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $981.06. The firm has a market cap of $437.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI lowered 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 note on Tuesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cowen restated a "buy" 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 issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.

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.