First Horizon Advisors Inc. Cuts Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,825 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,533 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $20,642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after buying an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,182,316,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after acquiring an additional 587,303 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,668,069,000 after acquiring an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on COST. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.4%

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $3.91 during trading on Friday, reaching $986.27. 1,101,351 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,076,297. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $1,005.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $981.05. The company has a market capitalization of $437.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.94, a PEG ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.