Verde Capital Management Decreases Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Verde Capital Management cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 74.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 298 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 874 shares during the period. Verde Capital Management's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. Capital & Planning LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,441,000 after purchasing an additional 837 shares in the last quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,214,000. May Barnhard Investments LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $485,000. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,852 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,529,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock worth $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on COST. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of COST traded up $40.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $1,048.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,400,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,051,940. The company's 50-day moving average is $983.85 and its 200-day moving average is $975.63. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $465.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.58, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders 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 of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.