Oak Harvest Investment Services Sells 4,031 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Oak Harvest Investment Services reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale by 34.6%, selling 4,031 shares, resulting in a total of 7,626 shares valued at approximately $7.2 million.
• Analyst ratings for Costco Wholesale vary, with the consensus being a "Moderate Buy" and a target price averaging $1,050.00, supported by seventeen analysts rating it as a "Buy."
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 0.5%.

Oak Harvest Investment Services cut its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 34.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,626 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 4,031 shares during the quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services' holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 45.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 117,254 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $107,436,000 after acquiring an additional 36,384 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 4,813 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,410,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,721 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $20,819,000 after acquiring an additional 79 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 several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ COST opened at $958.54 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $867.16 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. 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 50 day simple moving average of $969.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $985.06. The stock has a market cap of $425.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.96 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 the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The business 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 business's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.30 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 10,147 shares of company stock worth $10,067,740 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.

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