Legacy Capital Group California Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Legacy Capital Group California Inc. reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale by 67.5%, selling 1,483 shares and ending the quarter with 713 shares valued at approximately $675,000.
• Costco reported earnings per share of $4.28 for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 8% to $63.21 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share to be paid on August 15th, representing an annualized yield of 0.6%.

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 67.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 713 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,483 shares during the quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $675,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.4% in the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,436,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $3,095,000. Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at about $241,000. Finally, Gateway Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,380 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,305,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.9%

COST stock traded up $8.89 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $977.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,889,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,222,700. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $820.45 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $433.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.44, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.96. 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 has a 50-day simple moving average of $979.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $984.62.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% 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 worth $9,472,510 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Loop Capital cut 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. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,040.81.

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.