Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Covington Investment Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Covington Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Costco Wholesale by 5.3%, owning 7,928 shares valued at approximately $7.5 million after selling 445 shares in the first quarter.
• Costco recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, which will be paid on August 15th, and marks an annual yield of 0.5%.
• JPMorgan raised Costco's price target to $1,160 while ten analysts rated the stock as a hold, and eighteen others assigned a buy rating, reflecting positive sentiment towards Costco's performance.

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,928 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 445 shares during the quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,498,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Truist Financial raised their price target 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST traded up $7.76 on Monday, reaching $988.74. The stock had a trading volume of 2,288,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,222,014. The firm has a market capitalization of $438.48 billion, a PE ratio of 56.08, a PEG ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $977.93 and a 200 day moving average of $985.43. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $852.40 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current 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 paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.