Copeland Capital Management LLC Sells 281 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Copeland Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 15,995 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 281 shares during the quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $15,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares during the period. F&V Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $236,000. AMJ Financial Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management now owns 10,536 shares of the retailer's stock worth $9,654,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 4,507 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,134,000 after buying an additional 577 shares during the period. Finally, Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $241,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on COST. Barclays upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,034.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $985.14 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $436.89 billion, a PE ratio of 55.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,003.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $981.10. 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 Corporation has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

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.

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