Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Curran Financial Partners LLC

Curran Financial Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 11.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,632 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 349 shares during the quarter. Curran Financial Partners LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,489,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,665,921,000 after acquiring an additional 149,209 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $5,182,316,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were 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 now owns 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,825,205 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $974.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $432.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.30, a P/E/G ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month 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's 50-day moving average is $1,002.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $981.11.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

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