NewEdge Wealth LLC Decreases Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• NewEdge Wealth LLC has reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 2.1% during the first quarter, now holding 21,262 shares valued at approximately $20.1 million.
• Several other institutional investors have increased their holdings, with Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosting its stake by 5.1% to own over $404 million in shares.
• Costco declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, expected to be paid on August 15th, representing an annualized yield of 0.5%.

NewEdge Wealth LLC reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,262 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 459 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $20,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,817,573,000 after purchasing an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 79.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 775,541 shares of the retailer's stock worth $710,624,000 after purchasing an additional 343,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $280,046,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $2.85 during trading on Monday, hitting $955.37. 2,388,420 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,166,006. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $983.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $984.69. The firm has a market cap of $423.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.96. 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 (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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. 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 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on COST. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Evercore ISI reduced 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 note on Tuesday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.