Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Sells 673 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,676 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 673 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 2.1% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $37,525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $40,332,515,000 after purchasing an additional 443,101 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,817,573,000 after purchasing an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,990,957 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,656,828,000 after purchasing an additional 18,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,695,796,000 after purchasing an additional 191,985 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on COST. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,050.00.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were 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 owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4%

COST stock opened at $980.98 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $435.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.96. 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $837.63 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $977.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $985.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

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.