RWA Wealth Partners LLC Decreases Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• RWA Wealth Partners LLC has decreased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 3.1%, now holding 48,542 shares worth approximately $45.91 million.
• Costco's stock has shown a market cap of $431.08 billion and reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.28, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• Insider selling activity includes two executive vice presidents, Pierre Riel and Patrick J. Callans, selling shares for total amounts of $2.03 million and $3 million, indicating possible shifts in management confidence.

RWA Wealth Partners LLC lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,542 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,555 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.6% of RWA Wealth Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. RWA Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $45,911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock worth $40,332,515,000 after acquiring an additional 443,101 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st 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 lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the 4th 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. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,695,796,000 after acquiring an additional 191,985 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,461,159,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $972.04 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $867.16 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market cap of $431.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.14, a PEG ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50 day moving average of $972.25 and a 200-day moving average of $986.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The company 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 period last year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, August 4th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, May 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,050.00.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.