Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Sells 2,849 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 21.9% in the first quarter, now owning 10,159 shares valued at approximately $9.6 million.
• Several analysts have issued mixed ratings on Costco's stock, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $1,037.48.
• Costco has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, which will be paid on August 15th, reflecting an annualized dividend of $5.20 with a yield of 0.5%.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. trimmed its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 21.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,159 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,849 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. F&V Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $3,095,000. Curat Global LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $241,000. Finally, Gateway Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,380 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,305,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on 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. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday. Finally, Loop Capital cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $968.56 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $429.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.94, a PEG ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $809.26 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $979.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $984.38. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. 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 firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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