Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Fortitude Family Office LLC

Fortitude Family Office LLC trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 15.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,637 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 493 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 0.9% of Fortitude Family Office LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Fortitude Family Office LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Defined Financial Planning LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 31.1% in the first quarter. Defined Financial Planning LLC now owns 388 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 4,335 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,100,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares during the last quarter. Echo45 Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Echo45 Advisors LLC now owns 722 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $683,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Chris Bulman Inc lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Chris Bulman Inc now owns 1,873 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,771,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 600 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $567,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. 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, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.0%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $996.78 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $442.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.53, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $996.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $980.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. 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. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was 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 now owns 8,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $3,008,310.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,825,205 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale

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.