Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by BOCHK Asset Management Ltd

BOCHK Asset Management Ltd cut its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 97.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 350 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 11,350 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.2% of BOCHK Asset Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Miramar Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer's stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 818 shares of the retailer's stock worth $749,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Lifeworks Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 895 shares of the retailer's stock worth $820,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $986.27 on Monday. 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 P/E/G ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The business's fifty day moving average price is $1,005.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $981.38.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target 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 objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,034.79.

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.

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.