Westmount Partners LLC Sells 427 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Westmount Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 11.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,454 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 427 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.0% of Westmount Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Westmount Partners LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,267,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Peninsula Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 818 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Bosun Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. NFP Retirement Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. now owns 980 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,437 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,163,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,547 shares of company stock worth $13,396,790 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST traded down $16.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $951.37. The company had a trading volume of 2,943,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,065,970. 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 twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The company has a market capitalization of $421.91 billion, a PE ratio of 53.96, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1,002.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $982.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 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 company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 0.55%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

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.