Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 30.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 132,836 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 58,541 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 0.5% of Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $125,634,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 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 have sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned 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 target price of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $982.36 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $435.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.72, a PEG ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $1,004.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $981.10. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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