Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA

Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 27.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,494 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 554 shares during the period. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Stanich Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares during the last quarter. RW Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. RW Investment Management LLC now owns 5,624 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,153,000 after purchasing an additional 989 shares during the last quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management now owns 10,536 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,654,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc now owns 1,002 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $918,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.0%

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

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,825,205. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,035.32.

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.