Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) is CWA Asset Management Group LLC's 7th Largest Position

CWA Asset Management Group LLC decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,635 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 652 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.7% of CWA Asset Management Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. CWA Asset Management Group LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $34,649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of COST traded up $5.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $980.29. 3,250,821 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,063,545. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $793.00 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $1,002.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $981.03. The company has a market capitalization of $434.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.60, a PEG ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company'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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,547 shares of company stock worth $11,361,265 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.

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.