Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,068 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $66,269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,665,921,000 after buying an additional 149,209 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after buying an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,182,316,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock opened at $982.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $435.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.75, a PEG ratio of 5.83 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,004.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $981.26. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for 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 business earned $3.78 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on COST. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.

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.

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