Corundum Group Inc. Sells 48 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Corundum Group Inc. decreased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,449 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 48 shares during the period. Corundum Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,360,168 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,640,940,000 after purchasing an additional 485,051 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,628,694,000. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,539,245 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,336,198,000 after acquiring an additional 132,292 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,049,630,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $0.95 during trading on Thursday, reaching $857.79. 97,878 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,961,338. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $793.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $735.97. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $524.63 and a 52-week high of $873.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $380.28 billion, a PE ratio of 53.09, a P/E/G ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.79.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.43 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $676.00 price target (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Seven investment 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $756.85.

Costco Wholesale 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.