Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Mattern Capital Management LLC

Mattern Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 7.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,083 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,066 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.7% of Mattern Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Mattern Capital Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,665,921,000 after purchasing an additional 149,209 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $5,182,316,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:COST traded up $2.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $985.14. 2,128,085 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,073,172. The stock has a market capitalization of $436.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 1.00. 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 Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,003.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $981.05.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,034.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.