New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• New Age Alpha Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 94.1% during the first quarter, owning only 1,022 shares after selling 16,391 shares, valued at approximately $967,000.
• Various hedge funds, including Peninsula Wealth LLC and Bosun Asset Management LLC, have made minor adjustments to their holdings in Costco, with hedge funds collectively owning 68.48% of the company's stock.
• Costco recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, set to be paid on August 15th, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 0.5%.

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 94.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,022 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 16,391 shares during the quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 13,386 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $12,660,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. MWA Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 4,232 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,002,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Silver Coast Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $261,000. Probity Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Finally, ING Groep NV raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 26.9% during the first quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 97,319 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $92,042,000 after buying an additional 20,605 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company'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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded up $3.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $980.98. 2,188,224 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,172,175. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $977.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $985.13. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $837.63 and a one year high of $1,078.23. 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 market cap of $435.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital lowered 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. Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,050.00.

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.