Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Braun Stacey Associates Inc.

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lessened its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,352 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,360 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $22,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Miramar Capital LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Peninsula Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 818 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $749,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Bosun Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Lifeworks Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 895 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $820,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Loop Capital lowered their price objective 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, May 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,034.79.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.4%

COST stock opened at $986.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,005.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $981.20. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $437.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 29.50%.

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.