Peterson Wealth Services Lowers Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Peterson Wealth Services lowered its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,544 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 738 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 4.0% of Peterson Wealth Services' holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Peterson Wealth Services' holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peninsula Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 818 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Bosun Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer's stock worth $583,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. NFP Retirement Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. now owns 980 shares of the retailer's stock worth $898,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,437 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,163,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% during the first quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the retailer's stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on COST shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on 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, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,037.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST traded down $5.95 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $941.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,797,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,065,085. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $793.00 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $998.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $983.64. The company has a market capitalization of $417.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.41, a P/E/G ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued 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.