Caitlin John LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Caitlin John LLC reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale by 57.1%, bringing its total holdings to 770 shares valued at approximately $728,000.
• Costco reported a quarterly earnings per share of $4.28, exceeding analysts' estimates and reflecting an 8.0% year-over-year revenue increase to $63.21 billion.
• The company's recent dividend was $1.30 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 29.5%.

Caitlin John LLC lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 57.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 770 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,026 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $728,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $958.54 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $969.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $985.46. 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 firm has a market cap of $425.09 billion, a PE ratio of 54.37, a P/E/G ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $867.16 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business 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 company's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,050.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,147 shares of company stock valued at $10,067,740. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding COST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.