New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Lowers Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lowered its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,665 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.7% of New Mexico Educational Retirement Board's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.4% during the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,436,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after acquiring an additional 252,118 shares during the period. F&V Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $236,000. Umpqua Bank increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 4,507 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,134,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $241,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target 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. Mizuho began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Loop Capital dropped 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 report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday. Nine 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, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $970.33. 1,939,399 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,083,845. 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 firm has a market cap of $430.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $793.00 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The stock's fifty day moving average is $1,004.53 and its 200 day moving average is $981.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, 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 transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,994 shares of the company's stock, 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 a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.