Calamos Wealth Management LLC Sells 826 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Calamos Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 11.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,563 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 826 shares during the quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. May Barnhard Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $485,000. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock worth $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 117,254 shares of the retailer's stock worth $107,436,000 after buying an additional 36,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 4,813 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,410,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target 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. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. 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. Evercore ISI cut their price target 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $986.27 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. 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. 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's 50-day moving average price is $1,005.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $981.08.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm'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 value of $2,028,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.

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