Guggenheim Capital LLC Sells 26,418 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Guggenheim Capital LLC reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale by 17.6%, now holding 123,920 shares valued at approximately $117.2 million.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target for Costco from $1,115 to $1,160, maintaining an "overweight" rating, while the consensus price target stands at $1,050.
• Costco has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.6% and a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Guggenheim Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 17.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 123,920 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 26,418 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 1.1% of Guggenheim Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $117,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday. 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 upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted 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 report on Friday, May 30th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded down $4.56 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $944.96. 2,066,238 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,332,416. The stock has a market capitalization of $419.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.16 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $967.16 and a 200 day moving average of $982.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,147 shares of company stock worth $10,067,740. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.