Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Sells 21,348 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 14.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 125,950 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 21,348 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.6% of Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $119,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares during the last quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth about $236,000. Umpqua Bank lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 4,507 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,134,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth about $241,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $979.31 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $434.31 billion, a PE ratio of 55.53, a P/E/G ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50 day moving average of $1,005.36 and a 200-day moving average of $981.68. 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, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current 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 is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was 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 owned 58,543 shares of the company’s stock, 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on COST. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the 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.