Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,705 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 476 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 0.6% of Yousif Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Yousif Capital Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $55,522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,394,465,000 after buying an additional 1,519,861 shares during the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $95,452,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after acquiring an additional 587,303 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. 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 Tuesday, June 3rd. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of COST stock traded down $12.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $990.21. 1,782,964 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,064,562. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $793.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The stock's 50 day moving average is $998.80 and its 200-day moving average is $980.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $439.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.15, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,825,205 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by 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.