Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Pacific Sage Partners LLC

Pacific Sage Partners LLC cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,742 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 317 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.4% of Pacific Sage Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Pacific Sage Partners LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 now directly owns 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. 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 objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $3.63 on Thursday, hitting $982.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,260,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,067,659. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,004.32 and a 200-day moving average of $981.29. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The company has a market capitalization of $435.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. Costco Wholesale's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.