Close Asset Management Ltd Cuts Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Close Asset Management Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 30.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 875 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 389 shares during the period. Close Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peninsula Wealth LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 818 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. now owns 980 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $898,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,437 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,163,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the retailer's stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $941.61 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $998.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $983.64. The company has a market capitalization of $417.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.41, a P/E/G ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.97. 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 1 year low of $793.00 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.

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.