OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Trims Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 17.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,200 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 450 shares during the quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares during the period. F&V Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth $236,000. Umpqua Bank raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 4,507 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,134,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the period. Finally, Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth $241,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the business'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 transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business'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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,547 shares of company stock valued at $13,396,790 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.7%

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $16.31 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $951.37. The stock had a trading volume of 2,943,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,065,970. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $421.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $1,001.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $982.21.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

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.