Summit Financial LLC Cuts Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Summit Financial LLC has reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 0.9%, owning 27,659 shares valued at approximately $26.16 million after selling 257 shares in the first quarter.
• Insiders at Costco have sold a total of 9,547 shares worth about $9.47 million over the past ninety days, indicating potential profit-taking among executives.
• Costco's latest earnings report showed a revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share.

Summit Financial LLC reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,659 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 257 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.7% of Summit Financial LLC's holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Summit Financial LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $26,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the 1st 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 last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock opened at $994.57 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $971.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $986.14. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.16 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market cap of $441.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.41, a PEG ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%.The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 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.

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