Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Position Cut by Conning Inc.

Conning Inc. trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 17.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,435 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,387 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $5,182,316,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after purchasing an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ COST opened at $986.27 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $437.39 billion, a PE ratio of 55.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $1,005.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $981.08.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,034.79.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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