Nicolet Bankshares Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Nicolet Bankshares Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,343 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 361 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.2% of Nicolet Bankshares Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Nicolet Bankshares Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.3% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 7,190 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,800,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.6% during the first quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 688 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $12,970,000. Orion Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.6% during the first quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC now owns 2,401 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,271,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, South Plains Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.4% during the first quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 544 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of COST stock opened at $941.58 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $867.16 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market cap of $417.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.41, a P/E/G ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $968.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $983.88. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%.The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on COST. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Loop Capital cut 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,050.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, 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 $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,147 shares of company stock valued at $10,067,740. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company 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.