Freedom Day Solutions LLC Decreases Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Freedom Day Solutions LLC decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 8.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,552 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 443 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.3% of Freedom Day Solutions LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Freedom Day Solutions LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of COST. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,182,316,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $95,452,000. 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 buying an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after buying an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $970.33. 1,939,399 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,068,105. 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 fifty-two week low of $793.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The company has a market capitalization of $430.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's fifty day moving average is $1,004.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $981.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. 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 firm 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 of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.