Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. Sells 301 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.1%, selling 301 shares and holding 9,410 shares valued at approximately $9.3 million.
• Costco reported quarterly earnings of $5.87 per share, surpassing analysts' estimates, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 8.1% to $86.16 billion.
• Costco recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $5.20 and a dividend yield of 0.6%.

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 3.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,410 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 301 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 2.1% of Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $40,332,515,000 after acquiring an additional 443,101 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,097,127,000 after acquiring an additional 18,045 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,695,796,000 after acquiring an additional 191,985 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at $3,461,159,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,357,630 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,175,579,000 after buying an additional 125,441 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $916.87 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $867.16 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market cap of $406.61 billion, a PE ratio of 50.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $955.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $971.72.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.15 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,130.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,072.00.

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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