Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. Has $12.05 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. cut its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 14.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,743 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,131 shares during the period. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after acquiring an additional 252,118 shares in the last quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $236,000. Umpqua Bank increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 4,507 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,134,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $241,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 68,976 shares of the retailer's stock worth $63,200,000 after acquiring an additional 16,967 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $992.18 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,005.48 and a 200-day moving average of $981.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $440.01 billion, a PE ratio of 56.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. Costco Wholesale's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective 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 lowered their price objective 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. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.

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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