ERn Financial LLC Has $1.81 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

ERn Financial LLC lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,913 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 178 shares during the period. ERn Financial LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after acquiring an additional 252,118 shares in the last quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $236,000. RW Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. RW Investment Management LLC now owns 5,624 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,153,000 after purchasing an additional 989 shares in the last quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management now owns 10,536 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,654,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Umpqua Bank lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 4,507 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,134,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.3%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $974.90 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $1,002.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $981.11. 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $793.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $432.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 now directly owns 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,825,205. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on COST. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.

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.