Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) is Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.'s 9th Largest Position

Key Points

• Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.0%, now holding 9,711 shares valued at approximately $9.18 million, making Costco its 9th largest holding.
• Several large investors significantly increased their positions in Costco, with GAMMA Investing LLC boosting its holdings by an astounding 106,402.1% to over 8.16 million shares worth nearly $7.72 billion.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share set to be paid on August 15th, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 0.56% and a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 5.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,711 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 513 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 2.2% 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 $9,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of COST traded down $4.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $930.17. 756,784 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,203,349. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $793.00 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.74, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.97. The business's 50-day moving average price is $987.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $983.87.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on COST. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,037.48.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.