Stephens Inc. AR Lowers Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Stephens Inc. AR reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,168 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 395 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $14,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares during the period. F&V Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth about $236,000. Umpqua Bank lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 4,507 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,134,000 after buying an additional 577 shares during the period. Finally, Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth about $241,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Mizuho began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,037.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 value of $3,008,310.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock traded up $10.58 during trading on Monday, reaching $980.91. The stock had a trading volume of 1,677,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,223,064. The stock's 50 day moving average is $1,003.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $982.24. The firm has a market cap of $435.01 billion, a PE ratio of 55.64, a PEG ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $793.00 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. 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 (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 company 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. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. 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. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

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.