Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by True North Advisors LLC

Key Points

• True North Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.4%, owning approximately 9,366 shares worth $8.86 million, making it the 9th largest position in their portfolio.
• Costco reported a net revenue of $63.21 billion for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with an EPS of $4.28, beating estimates of $4.24.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, set to be paid on August 15th, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.5%.

True North Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 7.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,366 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 753 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.6% of True North Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. True North Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of COST. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,717,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,817,573,000 after buying an additional 587,303 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $40,332,515,000 after acquiring an additional 443,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 84.0% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 812,188 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $768,114,000 after buying an additional 370,806 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock traded up $3.53 during trading hours 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $435.05 billion, a PE ratio of 55.64, a PEG ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $837.63 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The stock's 50 day moving average is $977.93 and its 200 day moving average is $985.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on COST shares. 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. Evercore ISI cut 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 report on Tuesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,050.00.

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.