Comerica Bank Sells 1,610 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Comerica Bank reduced its stake in Costco by 1.3% in the first quarter, now owning 124,951 shares worth approximately $118 million.
• Costco's stock performance shows a 1-year high of $1,078.23 and a low of $867.16, with a current market cap of $425.09 billion.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $4.28 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and has an annualized dividend of $5.20 per share.

Comerica Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of 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 SEC. The firm owned 124,951 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,610 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.5% of Comerica Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Comerica Bank's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $118,176,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Truist Financial raised their price target 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. Evercore ISI reduced their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ COST traded up $8.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $949.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,890,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,224,604. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $968.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $983.59. The stock has a market cap of $421.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.86, a P/E/G ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $867.16 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the firm'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 owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,147 shares of company stock worth $10,067,740. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.