Sawyer & Company Inc Sells 280 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Sawyer & Company Inc trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 43.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 360 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 280 shares during the quarter. Sawyer & Company Inc's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 44 Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. SRN Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,823,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peninsula Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 818 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $749,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of COST stock opened at $980.29 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $1,002.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $981.03. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The company has a market capitalization of $434.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.00. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,547 shares of company stock worth $11,361,265. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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