Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Position Cut by Whalerock Point Partners LLC

Whalerock Point Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 99.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,018 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,179,195 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 2.4% of Whalerock Point Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Whalerock Point Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,805,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:COST traded down $5.53 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $810.03. 2,015,714 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,987,864. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $530.56 and a twelve month high of $896.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $842.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $769.29. The firm has a market cap of $359.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.19, a P/E/G ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.43 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Gordon Haskett lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 2nd. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $920.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $900.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $799.33.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $848.53, for a total value of $1,272,795.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,327,041.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,350 shares of company stock worth $2,837,131. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.