Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stake Cut by BigSur Wealth Management LLC

BigSur Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 12.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,083 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 427 shares during the period. BigSur Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,048,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. SRN Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,823,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Miramar Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,035.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,825,205. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of COST stock traded down $12.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $990.21. 1,782,964 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,067,253. The business's fifty day moving average is $1,000.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $980.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $439.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.15, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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