Rathbones Group PLC Sells 12,111 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC reduced its stake in Costco by 4.1%, selling 12,111 shares and holding 280,347 shares, which represent roughly 1.3% of its total holdings.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, payable on August 15th, with an annualized yield of 0.5%.
• Analysts have given Costco a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of approximately $1,050.00, despite some recent price target reductions from several firms.

Rathbones Group PLC decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 280,347 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 12,111 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.3% of Rathbones Group PLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Rathbones Group PLC owned 0.06% of Costco Wholesale worth $265,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" 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. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.3%

COST stock traded up $2.51 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $991.25. The company had a trading volume of 1,587,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,215,102. The business has a 50-day moving average of $975.28 and a 200-day moving average of $985.81. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $856.16 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market cap of $439.60 billion, a PE ratio of 56.23, a PEG ratio of 6.15 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the 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 transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.