MGO One Seven LLC Sells 3,104 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• MGO One Seven LLC reduced its holdings in Costco Wholesale by **18.2%**, selling **3,104 shares**, and ending the first quarter with **13,968 shares** valued at over **$13 million**.
• Insider transactions include **EVP Yoram Rubanenko** selling **4,000 shares** for nearly **$3.9 million**, while **Director Susan L. Decker** sold **547 shares** for about **$536,060**.
• Several analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for Costco, with **Morgan Stanley** raising its target to **$1,225** and a consensus rating of **"Moderate Buy"** among analysts.

MGO One Seven LLC lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 18.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,968 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,104 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Lyell Wealth Management LP lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the first quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 27,482 shares of the retailer's stock worth $25,992,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.1% in the first quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,222 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,993,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.3% in the first quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 897 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $906,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,429,000. Finally, RVW Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 98.9% in the first quarter. RVW Wealth LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on COST. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock traded up $12.13 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $939.64. 2,560,014 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,946,133. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $984.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $983.58. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $416.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

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.