Snider Financial Group Sells 393 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Snider Financial Group lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 6.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,735 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 393 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.8% of Snider Financial Group's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Snider Financial Group's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST traded up $4.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1,014.94. 1,852,907 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,058,141. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $450.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.60, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $993.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $979.66.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,035.32.

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.