Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Defender Capital LLC.

Defender Capital LLC. lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 8.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,106 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 964 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 4.2% of Defender Capital LLC.'s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Defender Capital LLC.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of COST. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,717,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,182,316,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,817,573,000 after buying an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on COST. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on 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. 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,034.79.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $536,060.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. The trade was 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 worth $9,496,950 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.4%

COST stock traded up $3.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $986.27. 1,101,351 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,076,297. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,005.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $981.05. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $437.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.94, a PEG ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.97.

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 for the quarter, topping 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 business 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 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's 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.