Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.

Key Points

• Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. has reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 1.5%, owning 45,380 shares after selling 685 shares in the first quarter.
• Costco Wholesale reported $4.28 earnings per share for the latest quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, with a revenue of $63.21 billion, up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year.
• Costco plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $1.30 on August 15th, with a dividend yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,380 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 685 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 2.2% of Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $42,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bosun Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer's stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Corps Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,463,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer's stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,437 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,163,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on COST. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,050.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded down $3.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $972.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,637,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,147,194. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.16 and a 1 year 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. The stock has a market cap of $431.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.14, a PEG ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 0.96. The business's fifty day moving average is $973.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $985.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio 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.