KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Sells 4,300 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS cut its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 152,340 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 4,300 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 0.7% of KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $144,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $7,717,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152,528 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $5,182,316,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp grew 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 purchasing an additional 587,303 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 79.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 775,541 shares of the retailer's stock worth $710,624,000 after purchasing an additional 343,390 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on COST shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on 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. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was 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 directly owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST traded down $5.95 on Tuesday, reaching $941.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,797,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,065,673. The firm has a market cap of $417.59 billion, a PE ratio of 53.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $998.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $983.64. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $793.00 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.