Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Holdings Decreased by Bellevue Asset Management LLC

Bellevue Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,743 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 3.5% of Bellevue Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Bellevue Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,717,744,000 after buying an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $5,182,316,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $95,452,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,817,573,000 after purchasing an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $986.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $437.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.94, a P/E/G ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,005.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $981.05.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 Activity

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on COST. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.