Fortitude Family Office LLC Sells 493 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Fortitude Family Office LLC lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 15.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,637 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 493 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.9% of Fortitude Family Office LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Fortitude Family Office LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Defined Financial Planning LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 31.1% during the first quarter. Defined Financial Planning LLC now owns 388 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 23.8% in the first quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 4,335 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,100,000 after acquiring an additional 833 shares in the last quarter. Echo45 Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.9% in the first quarter. Echo45 Advisors LLC now owns 722 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Chris Bulman Inc lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the first quarter. Chris Bulman Inc now owns 1,873 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,771,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.7% in the first quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 600 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Nine equities 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,035.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other 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 transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41% 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 ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.2%

COST stock traded down $12.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $990.21. 1,782,964 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,064,566. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,000.43 and a 200-day moving average of $980.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $439.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.15, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 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.