Cullinan Associates Inc. Sells 2,964 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Cullinan Associates Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 13.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,882 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,964 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.0 %

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $8.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $853.93. The stock had a trading volume of 439,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,960,017. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $524.63 and a 12 month high of $873.96. The company has a market capitalization of $378.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.65, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $801.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $740.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Argus raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $777.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 2nd. Seven equities 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $758.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale

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.