Callan Family Office LLC Sells 9,070 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Callan Family Office LLC significantly reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale, lowering holdings by 70.6%, resulting in ownership of 3,784 shares valued at approximately $3.58 million.
• Recent analyst updates on Costco include a price target increase by Morgan Stanley from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts.
• Costco has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, payable on August 15, with a dividend yield of 0.5% based on the current share price.

Callan Family Office LLC lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 70.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,784 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 9,070 shares during the quarter. Callan Family Office LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in 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. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth approximately $3,461,159,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock worth $40,332,515,000 after acquiring an additional 443,101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST traded up $2.51 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $991.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,587,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,215,102. The firm has a market cap of $439.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.23, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $975.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $985.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $856.16 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research 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 will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be 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 is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on COST. Loop Capital cut their price target on 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. Truist Financial increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,050.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the firm'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 directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is 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.