Cardinal Capital Management Sells 278 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Cardinal Capital Management cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,443 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 278 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 3.1% of Cardinal Capital Management's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Cardinal Capital Management's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $20,280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after acquiring an additional 455,043 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,665,921,000 after purchasing an additional 149,209 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st 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. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,182,316,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of COST traded down $2.82 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $974.90. The stock had a trading volume of 1,506,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,065,456. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $432.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.30, a P/E/G ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.00. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $1,002.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $981.16. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Insiders have sold a total of 11,000 shares of company stock worth $10,825,205 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on COST. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. 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 note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Nine research 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, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.

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.