West Family Investments Inc. Sells 1,338 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

West Family Investments Inc. lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 67.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 639 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,338 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $604,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 32,571 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,805,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. BluePointe Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 46.8% during the 1st quarter. BluePointe Capital Management LLC now owns 765 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $724,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $3,095,000. Baer Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 76.6% during the 1st quarter. Baer Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,421 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,290,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 6,805 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,436,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $980.91 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1,003.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $982.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $435.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.64, a P/E/G ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.97. 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 announced its 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 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 revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% 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 valued at $9,496,950 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,037.48.

About Costco Wholesale

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.