Capital Investment Counsel LLC Sells 439 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Capital Investment Counsel LLC decreased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,638 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 439 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 2.1% of Capital Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Capital Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $40,332,515,000 after buying an additional 443,101 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after buying an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,695,796,000 after buying an additional 191,985 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,461,159,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.9% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,357,630 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,175,579,000 after buying an additional 125,441 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was 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 directly owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,147 shares of company stock worth $10,067,740. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Loop Capital cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Truist Financial upped their price objective 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. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $943.32 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $418.34 billion, a PE ratio of 53.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $966.42 and a 200-day moving average of $980.51. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $867.16 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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