Mount Lucas Management LP Sells 2,296 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Mount Lucas Management LP trimmed its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 59.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,535 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,296 shares during the quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Roundview Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 16,968 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $16,048,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth $16,589,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 864.4% in the first quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 4,147 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,922,000 after purchasing an additional 3,717 shares during the last quarter. Grove Street Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 91.7% in the first quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 4,300 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,067,000 after acquiring an additional 2,057 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on 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 increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. 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 stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,037.48.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% 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. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $941.61 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $998.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $983.64. The company has a market cap of $417.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.41, a PEG ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $793.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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