Madison Asset Management LLC Sells 2,588 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Madison Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 30,955 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,588 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $29,276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $941.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $998.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $983.64. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The company has a market cap of $417.59 billion, a PE ratio of 53.41, a P/E/G ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Truist Financial raised their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.