Brookstone Capital Management Cuts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Brookstone Capital Management decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,193 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,255 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $15,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position 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 worth $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,182,316,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,817,573,000 after purchasing an additional 587,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST traded up $3.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $986.27. 1,101,351 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,076,297. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,005.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $981.08. The company has a market cap of $437.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.94, a PEG ratio of 6.14 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,034.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. 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 $9,496,950. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.