Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC Sells 15 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,035 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 15 shares during the quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SRN Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,823,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Peninsula Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 818 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Bosun Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital dropped their price target 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 upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

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

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 firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,647 shares of company stock worth $10,530,961 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently 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.