Strategy Asset Managers LLC Sells 286 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Strategy Asset Managers LLC decreased its stake in Costco by 6.7%, selling 286 shares to end the first quarter with 3,980 shares valued at $3.76 million.
• Costco reported earnings of $4.28 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and generating a revenue of $63.21 billion, reflecting an 8% year-over-year increase.
• Costco’s dividend payout of $1.30 will be distributed on August 15, resulting in an annualized dividend of $5.20 with a yield of 0.6%.

Strategy Asset Managers LLC lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,980 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 286 shares during the quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 117,254 shares of the retailer's stock worth $107,436,000 after acquiring an additional 36,384 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Hudson Value Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.7% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Mizuho began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,040.81.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% 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 $9,472,510 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $8.89 during trading on Thursday, hitting $977.45. The stock had a trading volume of 1,889,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,222,700. 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $820.45 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market cap of $433.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.44, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.96. The business's 50-day moving average is $979.28 and its 200 day moving average is $984.62.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

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.