Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Fox Hill Wealth Management

Key Points

• Fox Hill Wealth Management reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 46.9%, now holding 3,588 shares valued at approximately $3.39 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, to be paid on August 15, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.5%.
• Costco's recent quarterly earnings showed a profit of $4.28 per share, surpassing expectations and reflecting an 8.0% year-over-year revenue increase.

Fox Hill Wealth Management decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 46.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,588 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,174 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 2.0% of Fox Hill Wealth Management's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Fox Hill Wealth Management's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock worth $40,332,515,000 after purchasing an additional 443,101 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,717,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152,528 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after purchasing an additional 587,303 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during 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. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,695,796,000 after purchasing an additional 191,985 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $3.46 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $975.39. 1,806,960 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,216,071. 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 52-week low of $867.16 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The firm's 50 day moving average is $973.82 and its 200 day moving average is $985.76. The stock has a market cap of $432.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.33, a P/E/G ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

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.