AMI Asset Management Corp Sells 24,466 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

AMI Asset Management Corp lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 28.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,557 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 24,466 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 2.3% of AMI Asset Management Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. AMI Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $44,366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and set a $676.00 target price (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $758.70.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock traded up $3.30 on Thursday, hitting $862.66. The company had a trading volume of 814,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,709,054. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $810.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $744.39. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $524.63 and a twelve month high of $873.96. The firm has a market cap of $382.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.75%.

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.