Buckhead Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Buckhead Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,298 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 143 shares during the period. Buckhead Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $59,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $950.95 on Friday. 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 $421.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.94, a PEG ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $998.91 and a 200 day moving average of $982.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial boosted 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. Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.