Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC Sells 27 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 663 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 27 shares during the period. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $974.90 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1,002.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $981.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The company has a market cap of $432.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.30, a PEG ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,034.79.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,825,205. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.