Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by GKV Capital Management Co. Inc.

Key Points

• GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 17.9%, making Costco its 10th largest position with current holdings valued at $8,342,000.
• Insider selling has been notable, with executives Patrick J. Callans and Pierre Riel selling shares valued at approximately $3 million and $2 million respectively, resulting in decreases of 4.87% and 19.59% in their ownership.
• Costco recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, representing a 0.6% yield and a payout ratio of 29.50%.

GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 17.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,820 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,925 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 2.7% of GKV Capital Management Co. Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on COST. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,050.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 transaction, the executive vice president 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,147 shares of company stock worth $10,067,740. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of COST stock traded down $1.64 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $943.32. 1,606,977 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,241,319. The firm has a market cap of $418.34 billion, a PE ratio of 53.51, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.16 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $966.42 and a 200 day moving average of $980.51.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was 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.