Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC lessened its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 73,310 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,695 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $69,335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Truist Financial raised 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. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $941.58 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $968.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $983.88. The company has a market capitalization of $417.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.16 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction 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 approximately $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,147 shares of company stock valued at $10,067,740 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.