Securian Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,503 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 311 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.7% of Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $22,229,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock worth $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 117,254 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $107,436,000 after purchasing an additional 36,384 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 4,813 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,410,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,501 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,789,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST traded up $10.58 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $980.91. 1,677,196 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,223,064. The stock has a market capitalization of $435.01 billion, a PE ratio of 55.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,003.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $982.24. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $793.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 (DPR) is 29.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital lowered their price target 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, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,037.48.

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.