Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Reduces Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ has reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 7.1%, selling 9,165 shares, which now represents 0.7% of its portfolio.
• Costco's recent quarterly earnings exceeded estimates, reporting earnings per share (EPS) of $4.28 and revenues of $63.21 billion, marking an 8.0% increase from the previous year.
• Analysts have set varied target prices for Costco, with JPMorgan Chase raising their target to $1,160.00 while the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ cut its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 7.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 119,391 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 9,165 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.7% of Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $112,918,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 45.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 117,254 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $107,436,000 after purchasing an additional 36,384 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 4,813 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,410,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 732 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $671,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,147 shares of company stock worth $10,067,740. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on COST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $1.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $943.32. 1,606,977 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,307,594. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $867.16 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $966.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $981.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $418.34 billion, a PE ratio of 53.51, a PEG ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 0.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%.The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.