Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Putney Financial Group LLC

Putney Financial Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 57.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,468 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,015 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.1% of Putney Financial Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Putney Financial Group LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,048,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,196,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,823,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer's stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of COST stock traded up $5.39 on Friday, hitting $980.29. The stock had a trading volume of 3,250,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,063,545. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,002.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $981.03. The company has a market cap of $434.74 billion, a PE ratio of 55.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,547 shares of company stock worth $11,361,265 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,034.79.

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.