Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC

Key Points

• Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC reduced its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 4.6% in the first quarter, ending with 9,432 shares valued at approximately $8.92 million.
• Costco's latest earnings report showed a quarterly revenue increase of 8.0% year-over-year, with earnings per share of $4.28, surpassing estimates by $0.04.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,432 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 452 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST traded down $24.89 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $969.68. The stock had a trading volume of 2,142,583 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,125,206. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $970.48 and a 200 day moving average of $985.89. The stock has a market cap of $430.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.18 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 quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm 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%.Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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