Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Costco by 1.6%, selling 10,120 shares, and now holds 605,173 shares which account for 1.1% of its portfolio.
• Costco's recent earnings report exceeded expectations with an EPS of $4.28, and revenue of $63.21 billion, reflecting an 8.0% increase from the previous year.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.6% and a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Baird Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 605,173 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 10,120 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.1% of Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Costco Wholesale worth $572,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.4% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 2,087 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,974,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 109.9% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 338 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Stony Point Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 122.7% during the first quarter. Stony Point Capital LLC now owns 16,737 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $15,830,000 after buying an additional 9,222 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 101.7% during the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 42,981 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $40,656,000 after buying an additional 21,669 shares during the period. Finally, Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 495.0% during the first quarter. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd now owns 601 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $564,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:COST traded down $4.61 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $938.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,241,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,213,735. 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 has a 50-day moving average of $965.20 and a 200 day moving average of $979.61. The company has a market cap of $416.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.25, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.16 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 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. Insiders have sold 10,147 shares of company stock worth $10,067,740 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,050.00.

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.