Guardian Investment Management Sells 662 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Guardian Investment Management cut its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 12.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,543 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 662 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 3.5% of Guardian Investment Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Guardian Investment Management's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on COST. Evercore ISI lowered 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. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded down $3.60 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $982.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,604,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,072,369. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month 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. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,004.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $981.09. The company has a market capitalization of $435.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.72, a PEG ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The company 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 firm's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was 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 $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.