Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Position Lessened by XML Financial LLC

XML Financial LLC reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,381 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 35 shares during the quarter. XML Financial LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of COST. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,916,118,000 after buying an additional 473,702 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $3,628,694,000. Capital World Investors grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 8.1% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,802,147,000 after acquiring an additional 285,533 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,794,480 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,844,581,000 after purchasing an additional 85,398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,657,994 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,754,489,000 after purchasing an additional 77,345 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $824.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,249,526 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ COST traded up $5.22 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $881.42. The stock had a trading volume of 1,464,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,974,630. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $530.56 and a 12 month high of $896.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $850.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $786.19. The company has a market capitalization of $390.76 billion, a PE ratio of 54.61, a P/E/G ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

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.