Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Trims Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,119 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,152 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.2% of Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $89,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. 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. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $954.28. 906,153 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,063,485. The company has a market capitalization of $423.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $1,000.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $982.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.