Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Jackson Square Capital LLC

Jackson Square Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 9.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,408 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 793 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 2.3% of Jackson Square Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Jackson Square Capital LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $12.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $990.21. 1,782,964 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,067,253. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $439.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $1,000.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $980.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,825,205. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,035.32.

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.