Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by Nilsine Partners LLC

Nilsine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,472 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 831 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 1.5% of Nilsine Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Nilsine Partners LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redmond Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $1,214,000. May Barnhard Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $485,000. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,852 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,529,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $8,776,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were 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 now directly owns 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,547 shares of company stock valued at $11,361,265. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on COST shares. Mizuho initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $980.29 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average is $1,002.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $981.03. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year 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 has a market capitalization of $434.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.60, a PEG ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost 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 currently 29.50%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding COST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.