Townsquare Capital LLC Decreases Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC has decreased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 5.3%, now holding 31,487 shares valued at approximately $29.78 million.
• GAMMA Investing LLC significantly increased its investment in Costco, boosting its stake by an astounding 106,402.1% to over 8.16 million shares worth about $7.72 billion.
• Costco has recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, set to be paid on August 15th, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 0.5%.

Townsquare Capital LLC decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,487 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,759 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $29,780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% 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 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,040.81.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of COST stock traded up $3.53 on Friday, hitting $980.98. The stock had a trading volume of 2,188,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,172,175. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $837.63 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $977.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $984.85. The company has a market cap of $435.05 billion, a PE ratio of 55.64, a P/E/G ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.96. 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 (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 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 business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

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.