Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. sold 300 shares of Costco Wholesale, reducing its holdings by 75%, and now owns 100 shares worth $95,000.
• Insider sales included Director Susan L. Decker and EVP Patrick J. Callans, who sold 547 and 3,000 shares respectively, with Decker's sale valued at $536,060 and Callans’ at $3,008,310.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with a payout ratio of 29.50%, set to be paid on August 15 to investors of record as of August 1.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 75.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 100 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $95,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. 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 acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,095,000. Rossmore Private Capital boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the first quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 6,687 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,325,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at $241,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, August 4th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of COST traded down $3.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $972.04. 1,637,627 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,147,194. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $867.16 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company's 50 day moving average is $973.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $985.83. The company has a market capitalization of $431.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.14, a PEG ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 0.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.