Elk River Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,757 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Elk River Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 10.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,619 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,757 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 2.8% of Elk River Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Elk River Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $14,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,394,465,000 after buying an additional 1,519,861 shares during the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $95,452,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $729,476,000 after acquiring an additional 795,345 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock opened at $1,014.94 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market cap of $450.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.60, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $993.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $979.31.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Loop Capital decreased 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,035.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding COST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.