Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. Has $12.05 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 14.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,743 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,131 shares during the period. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $992.18 on Tuesday. 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 twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $440.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.28, a P/E/G ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s fifty day moving average is $1,005.48 and its 200 day moving average is $981.65.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased 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 report on Thursday, May 29th. 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% 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 owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale 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.