Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Fermata Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Fermata Advisors LLC sold 767 shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation, reducing its stake by 37.7%, resulting in a total of 1,270 shares valued at approximately $1.26 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and GAMMA Investing, have recently increased their stakes in Costco, with Vanguard owning over 42 million shares valued at about $40.3 billion.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, yielding 0.5%, indicating a payout ratio of 29.5%.

Fermata Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 37.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,270 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 767 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Corps Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the first quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer's stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the retailer's stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 866 shares of the retailer's stock worth $819,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock traded down $1.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $951.16. The company had a trading volume of 4,601,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,916,574. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $957.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $972.23. The company has a market cap of $421.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.16 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of 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. Loop Capital cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,056.67.

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.