Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by L.M. Kohn & Company

L.M. Kohn & Company cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,620 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 849 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 3.6% of L.M. Kohn & Company's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. L.M. Kohn & Company's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,547 shares of company stock worth $11,361,265 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of 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, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $980.29 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $1,002.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $981.10. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $434.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 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 business earned $3.78 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 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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