Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Verity & Verity LLC

Verity & Verity LLC decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 23.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 986 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 299 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in 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 last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,000 shares of company stock worth $10,825,205 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.2%

NASDAQ COST traded down $12.50 on Friday, reaching $990.21. The company had a trading volume of 1,782,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,064,562. The firm has a market capitalization of $439.14 billion, a PE ratio of 58.15, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $793.00 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $998.80 and a 200-day moving average of $980.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm 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 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. Costco Wholesale's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

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.