Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 63.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,118 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,674 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.2% of Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,717,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,394,465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519,861 shares in the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $95,452,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after buying an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on COST. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. 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 report on Thursday, May 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,034.79.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,647 shares of company stock valued at $10,530,961. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.5%

COST stock traded down $15.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $986.54. 1,824,165 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,066,879. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $1,004.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $981.29. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $437.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 1.00. 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 (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.