Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Stake Cut by Crestwood Advisors Group LLC

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 3.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,570 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,714 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.4% of Crestwood Advisors Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $72,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,436,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares in the last quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,095,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $241,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial upped their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $3.87 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $937.32. The stock had a trading volume of 872,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,210,379. The company has a market capitalization of $415.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.17, a PEG ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $793.00 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $995.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $983.27.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

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.