Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC Sells 265 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC has reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.7%, selling 265 shares and now holding 4,356 shares valued at approximately $4.12 million.
• Costco's stock has seen an increase of 2.6% recently, with a current price of $968.56 and a market cap of $429.54 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, set to be paid on August 15th, representing an annual yield of 0.5%.

Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,356 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 265 shares during the period. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,121,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. Truist Financial upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,040.81.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $3.53 on Friday, hitting $980.98. 2,188,224 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,172,175. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm's 50-day moving average is $977.93 and its 200 day moving average is $984.85. The stock has a market cap of $435.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.64, a PEG ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $837.63 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

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.