Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 12.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,789 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 390 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. May Barnhard Investments LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $485,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock worth $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 188 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 117,254 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $107,436,000 after purchasing an additional 36,384 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,034.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of COST stock opened at $986.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $437.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.94, a PEG ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1,005.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $981.05. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business 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%. The company's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 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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