Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI Sells 1,895 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 10.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,313 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,895 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.7% of Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $15,429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,547 shares of company stock valued at $11,361,265 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on COST. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $980.29 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $1,002.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $981.03. The company has a market cap of $434.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. 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 (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

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.

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