Carnegie Investment Counsel Sells 573 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Carnegie Investment Counsel cut its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,183 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 573 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $31,959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price target 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. Mizuho assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of COST traded up $1.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $935.48. 1,825,525 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,969,335. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $793.00 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $414.86 billion, a PE ratio of 53.06, a PEG ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $992.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $983.84.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.