U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC Decreases Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 16.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,419 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,981 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $14,583,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were 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 approximately $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 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. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST traded down $6.34 on Tuesday, hitting $985.84. The stock had a trading volume of 1,714,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,073,564. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $437.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1,005.48 and a 200-day moving average of $981.65.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its 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 company 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 earned $3.78 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.