Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Leelyn Smith LLC

by · The Markets Daily

Leelyn Smith LLC reduced its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST – Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,224 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 135 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.0% of Leelyn Smith LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COST. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 818 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. now owns 980 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,437 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,163,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on COST. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,037.48.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on COST

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $970.33 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1,003.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $982.24. The company has a market capitalization of $430.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.04, a PEG ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Costco Wholesale

(Free Report)

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.

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