Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Raiffeisen Bank International AG

Key Points

• Raiffeisen Bank International AG has reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 18.3%, now holding 3,975 shares valued at approximately $3.7 million.
• Costco reported earnings of $4.28 per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, with an 8% year-over-year revenue growth totaling $63.21 billion.
• Costco has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG decreased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 18.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,975 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 892 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,665,921,000 after acquiring an additional 149,209 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,717,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152,528 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,817,573,000 after acquiring an additional 587,303 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,990,957 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,656,828,000 after acquiring an additional 18,897 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,715,685 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,404,571,000 after acquiring an additional 43,266 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ COST traded down $8.30 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $947.07. 869,014 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,208,605. The business's 50 day moving average is $982.28 and its 200-day moving average is $984.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $805.06 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $420.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share 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 last year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,037.48.

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.