Keeler Thomas Management LLC Sells 7,068 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Keeler Thomas Management LLC significantly reduced its stake in Costco, trimming its holdings by 77.0% to own just 2,112 shares, valued at approximately $1.997 million.
• Vanguard Group and GAMMA Investing made notable adjustments to their positions in Costco, with Vanguard increasing its stake by 1.0% and GAMMA investing growing their position by 106,402.1%.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, reflecting a 0.5% yield and a payout ratio of 29.50%, indicating a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Keeler Thomas Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 77.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,112 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 7,068 shares during the period. Keeler Thomas Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings 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 worth $4,817,573,000 after buying an additional 587,303 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $40,332,515,000 after acquiring an additional 443,101 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 79.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 775,541 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $710,624,000 after buying an additional 343,390 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were 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 approximately $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,040.81.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $3.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $980.98. The company had a trading volume of 2,188,224 shares, 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $979.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $984.62. The stock has a market cap of $435.05 billion, a PE ratio of 55.64, a P/E/G ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $837.63 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23.

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 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%. Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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.