Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Community Financial Services Group LLC

Community Financial Services Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 6.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,339 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 857 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 2.5% of Community Financial Services Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Community Financial Services Group LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $11,670,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock traded down $3.63 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $982.91. The company had a trading volume of 2,260,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,067,659. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1,004.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $981.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $435.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was 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 now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 now owns 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is currently 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.