Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 69,165 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.3% in the first quarter, now holding about 0.66% of the company, valued at approximately $2.78 billion.
• Costco reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.28, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue increasing by 8.0% year-over-year to $63.21 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.6%, to be paid on August 15th.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,935,125 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 69,165 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.66% of Costco Wholesale worth $2,775,982,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,040.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $8.89 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $977.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,889,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,222,700. 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 company has a market cap of $433.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.44, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $820.45 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $979.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $984.62.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Costco Wholesale 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.