Condor Capital Management Lowers Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Condor Capital Management reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 23.7%, now holding 3,626 shares valued at $3,429,000 as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors, such as GAMMA Investing LLC and Vanguard Group Inc., have significantly increased their positions in Costco, indicating a strong interest within the institutional investment community.
• Costco recently reported a quarterly earnings beat with $4.28 EPS, exceeding analyst expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 to be paid on August 15th.

Condor Capital Management reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 23.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,626 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,125 shares during the quarter. Condor Capital Management's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,429,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COST. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after purchasing an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $40,332,515,000 after acquiring an additional 443,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 84.0% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 812,188 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $768,114,000 after acquiring an additional 370,806 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on COST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $980.98 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $977.93 and a 200 day moving average of $984.85. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $837.63 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $435.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.64, a PEG ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 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 analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Costco Wholesale 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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