Balentine LLC Lowers Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Balentine LLC reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST – Free Report) by 25.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,748 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,983 shares during the quarter. Balentine LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,634,627 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,941,708,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315,174 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,098,880 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,689,979,000 after acquiring an additional 54,574 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 118,320.2% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,396,524 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,376,513,000 after acquiring an additional 7,390,278 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,595,523 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,780,247,000 after acquiring an additional 535,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,328,844,000. 76.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $2.30 on Friday, reaching $534.01. 1,511,269 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,824,870. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $447.90 and a 1-year high of $571.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $236.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average is $545.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $514.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 25th. The retailer reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $53.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.58 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.18% and a net margin of 2.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.17 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 8th. Investors of record on Friday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 24th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 30.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $545.00 to $570.00 in a research report on Friday, June 2nd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $535.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Friday, July 7th. Finally, VNET Group reiterated a “reiterates” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, June 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $562.67.

Read Our Latest Report on COST

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, CFO Richard A. Galanti sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.02, for a total value of $783,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,450,177. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.00, for a total transaction of $834,145.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,104,357. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Richard A. Galanti sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $522.02, for a total value of $783,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,450,177. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Profile

(Free Report)

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Australia, Spain, France, Iceland, China, and Taiwan. It offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)

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