Sowell Financial Services LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sowell Financial Services LLC reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,878 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 272 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 0.9% of Sowell Financial Services LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Sowell Financial Services LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,746,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,668,069,000 after buying an additional 455,043 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 252,118 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the fourth 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 period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,717,744,000 after buying an additional 8,152,528 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,182,316,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of COST stock opened at $990.21 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $793.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $439.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.15, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,000.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $981.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $10,825,205. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Loop Capital dropped 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 note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale 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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