Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Navellier & Associates Inc.

Navellier & Associates Inc. lessened its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 13.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,671 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,170 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 2.8% of Navellier & Associates Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Navellier & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,665,921,000 after purchasing an additional 149,209 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,182,316,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after buying an additional 587,303 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Loop Capital cut their price target 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. Finally, Truist Financial increased 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related 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 transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $1.68 on Friday, hitting $935.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,825,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,969,335. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $992.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $983.45. The firm has a market cap of $414.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one 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.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 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.