Covea Finance Sells 750 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Covea Finance reduced its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.7%, selling 750 shares during the 2nd quarter, now holding 42,242 shares valued at approximately $41.8 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Costco, with Vanguard Group and GAMMA Investing notably growing their holdings by 1.0% and 106,402.1% respectively.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with a current dividend yield of 0.6% and a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Covea Finance decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,242 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 750 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 1.6% of Covea Finance's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Covea Finance's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $41,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock worth $40,332,515,000 after buying an additional 443,101 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,717,744,000 after buying an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,097,127,000 after buying an additional 18,045 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 5.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,695,796,000 after purchasing an additional 191,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth $3,461,159,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on COST. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,061.30.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $943.26 on Tuesday. 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 market capitalization of $418.32 billion, a PE ratio of 53.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.97. The business's 50-day moving average price is $957.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $971.17. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $867.16 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 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.

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