Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) is Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC's 4th Largest Position

Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,182 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,062 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 5.2% of Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $49,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $5,182,316,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after acquiring an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after acquiring an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of COST traded down $2.96 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $950.95. 2,110,863 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,068,152. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $793.00 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $1,000.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $982.43. The company has a market capitalization of $421.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.94, a PEG ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital reduced their price target 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. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

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.