Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Chilton Capital Management LLC

Chilton Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 41,663 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 404 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.7% of Chilton Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Chilton Capital Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $39,404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position 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 period. Aspect Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the 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 transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on COST. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $986.27 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,005.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $981.38. 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 stock has a market cap of $437.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97.

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, 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 business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company 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. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 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.

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.