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

KRS Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 10.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 816 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 93 shares during the period. KRS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Norway Savings Bank boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.2% during the first quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 2,986 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,188,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 29.3% during the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 3,300 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,418,000 after buying an additional 748 shares during the period. Asio Capital LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.9% during the first quarter. Asio Capital LLC now owns 745 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 4.4% during the first quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 400 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Finally, Harbour Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the first quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,028 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,710,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $0.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $849.99. 2,131,691 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,840,321. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $801.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $739.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $376.83 billion, a PE ratio of 52.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.79. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $524.63 and a one year high of $873.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on COST. Barclays increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $700.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $860.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $756.85.

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.