Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Stokes Capital Advisors LLC

Stokes Capital Advisors LLC reduced its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 13.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,813 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,688 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 2.6% of Stokes Capital Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Stokes Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 9.9% in the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,566 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,427,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Harrington Investments INC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the first quarter. Harrington Investments INC now owns 5,416 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $5,122,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. City State Bank raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the first quarter. City State Bank now owns 2,283 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Radnor Capital Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the first quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 1,492 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,411,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Disciplined Investments LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at about $286,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:COST traded up $4.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $1,014.94. The stock had a trading volume of 1,852,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,058,141. The company has a market capitalization of $450.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $993.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $979.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on COST. Mizuho began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Truist Financial raised their target price 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. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,035.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.