Secured Retirement Advisors LLC Sells 2,539 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Secured Retirement Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 91.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 246 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,539 shares during the period. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Aspect Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of COST opened at $970.33 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $430.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.04, a PEG ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 0.97. 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 Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,003.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $982.06.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on COST. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,037.48.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the 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 directly owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% 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 $9,496,950 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is 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.