Phoenix Financial Ltd. Has $18.52 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. reduced its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.9%, owning 19,570 shares valued at approximately $18.5 million as of the end of the most recent quarter.
• Costco reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $4.28, exceeding analysts' estimates and achieving an 8.0% revenue increase year-over-year, amounting to $63.21 billion for the quarter.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $5.20 and a dividend yield of 0.56%.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 13.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,570 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,170 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $18,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Peninsula Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 818 shares of the retailer's stock worth $749,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer's stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Corps Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the first quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. NFP Retirement Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. now owns 980 shares of the retailer's stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,437 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,163,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% 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 worth $9,472,510 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:COST traded down $2.15 on Monday, reaching $933.33. The stock had a trading volume of 754,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,205,599. The firm's fifty day moving average is $992.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $984.23. The company has a market cap of $413.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on 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. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,037.48.

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.