Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Position Lowered by Leo Wealth LLC

Leo Wealth LLC lessened its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 52.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,327 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,481 shares during the period. Leo Wealth LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.4% during the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,436,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares during the period. F&V Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at $236,000. Umpqua Bank raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 4,507 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,134,000 after buying an additional 577 shares during the period. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at $241,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,037.48.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $980.91 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $1,003.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $982.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $435.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $793.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

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.