Sienna Gestion Sells 1,995 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Sienna Gestion has reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 10.4%, owning 17,154 shares after selling 1,995 shares in the first quarter.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $4.28, exceeding estimates, with revenue reaching $63.21 billion, an 8.0% increase from the previous year.
• Costco declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30, to be paid on August 15th, with a dividend yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Sienna Gestion reduced its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 10.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,154 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,995 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.3% of Sienna Gestion's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Sienna Gestion's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $15,770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Holderness Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the first quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 6,943 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,567,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Francis Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at $207,000. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth $612,000. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 67.8% in the first quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,130 shares of the retailer's stock worth $16,201,000 after acquiring an additional 6,924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.8% in the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 179 shares of the retailer's stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of 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. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock traded down $3.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $972.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,637,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,147,194. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $972.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $986.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $431.08 billion, a PE ratio of 55.14, a PEG ratio of 6.04 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $867.16 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.