Nicolet Bankshares Inc. Decreases Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Nicolet Bankshares Inc. reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 5.4% in the first quarter, now holding 6,343 shares valued at approximately $5.999 million.
• Costco has reported a strong quarterly performance with earnings per share of $4.28, slightly exceeding estimates, and an 8% increase in year-over-year revenue.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.6%.

Nicolet Bankshares Inc. lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 5.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,343 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 361 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.2% of Nicolet Bankshares Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Nicolet Bankshares Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.4% in the 1st 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth $3,095,000. Rossmore Private Capital increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 6,687 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,325,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth $241,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $941.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $968.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $983.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $417.57 billion, a PE ratio of 53.41, a PEG ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.16 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% 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, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,147 shares of company stock valued at $10,067,740 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital cut 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 report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,050.00.

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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