Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Holdings Cut by Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.

Key Points

• Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. has reduced its stake in Costco by 2.3%, owning 16,797 shares valued at approximately $15.9 million.
• Several major investors, including Vanguard Group and GAMMA Investing LLC, have significantly increased their holdings in Costco, highlighting active interest among institutional investors.
• Costco recently issued a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with an annual dividend yield of 0.5%, reflecting a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. reduced its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,797 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 397 shares during the period. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $15,886,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on COST. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $1.50 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $980.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,656,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,205,056. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $867.16 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $434.99 billion, a PE ratio of 55.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 0.96. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $971.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $986.12.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%.The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was 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.