First National Advisers LLC Sells 1,163 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• First National Advisers LLC reduced its stake in Costco by 14.2%, selling 1,163 shares and now holding 7,051 shares valued at approximately $6.67 million.
• Costco reported earnings per share (EPS) of $4.28 for the recent quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenues of $63.21 billion—an 8% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, set to be paid on August 15th, with a payout ratio of 29.5%.

First National Advisers LLC decreased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 14.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,051 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,163 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.1% of First National Advisers LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. First National Advisers LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after acquiring an additional 252,118 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,665,921,000 after purchasing an additional 149,209 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position 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 worth $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted 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 worth $4,817,573,000 after purchasing an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,990,957 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,656,828,000 after purchasing an additional 18,897 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $935.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $414.86 billion, a PE ratio of 53.06, a P/E/G ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The business's fifty day moving average price is $992.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $983.84.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on COST. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

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.

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