Hill Island Financial LLC Reduces Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Hill Island Financial LLC cut its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 237 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 16 shares during the quarter. Hill Island Financial LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $980.29 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,002.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $981.03. The firm has a market cap of $434.74 billion, a PE ratio of 55.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid 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 a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,547 shares of company stock worth $11,361,265. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.

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.