Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lowered its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,228 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 138 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale 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 transaction of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,350 shares of company stock worth $2,837,131. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of COST traded up $2.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $817.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,441,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,059,285. The company has a market cap of $362.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $841.90 and a 200 day moving average of $766.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $530.56 and a 1 year high of $896.67.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $905.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $799.33.

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.