Northern Trust Corp Sells 148,714 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.8%, selling 148,714 shares and retaining approximately 5.1 million shares valued at $4.83 billion.
• In the fourth quarter, several hedge funds increased their positions in Costco, with Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG reporting a substantial 45% increase in its holdings.
• Costco's recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $4.28 earnings per share on revenue of $63.21 billion, marking an 8% increase from the previous year.

Northern Trust Corp reduced its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,109,095 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 148,714 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.7% of Northern Trust Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.15% of Costco Wholesale worth $4,832,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $13.3130 on Wednesday, reaching $994.1630. 1,640,546 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,203,283. The company has a fifty day moving average of $971.19 and a 200-day moving average of $986.09. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.16 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The company has a market capitalization of $440.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.39, a PEG ratio of 6.09 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of 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 boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group restated 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, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,050.00.

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.