Capital Investment Counsel LLC Sells 439 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Capital Investment Counsel LLC reduced its stake in Costco by 3.1%, selling 439 shares, and now holds a total of 13,638 shares valued at approximately $12.9 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Bosun Asset Management LLC and Bank & Trust Co, have increased their investments in Costco, signaling continued interest among institutional investors.
• Analysts have raised Costco's target stock price, with Morgan Stanley increasing their target from $1,150 to $1,225, reflecting a generally positive outlook with a current consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Capital Investment Counsel LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,638 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 439 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 2.1% of Capital Investment Counsel LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Capital Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bosun Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer's stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the first quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.6% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer's stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the first quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $404,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on 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, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of COST opened at $943.32 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $966.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $980.51. The stock has a market cap of $418.34 billion, a PE ratio of 53.51, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $867.16 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. 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 (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 value of $2,028,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,147 shares of company stock valued at $10,067,740 over the last 90 days. Corporate 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.

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