Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Position Lowered by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.8%, now holding 70,063 shares valued at approximately $66.27 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Costco, with ten analystseighteen analysts$1,050.00.
• Costco recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, which will be paid on August 15th to shareholders on record as of August 1st.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,063 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,763 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 0.9% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $66,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Evercore ISI decreased their target price 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Loop Capital reduced 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. Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,050.00.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.1%

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $1.11 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $987.63. 693,612 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,211,712. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $856.16 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market cap of $437.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.01, a P/E/G ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $976.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $985.77.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

About Costco Wholesale

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.