Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 1,951 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 291,530 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,951 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.7% of Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Costco Wholesale worth $213,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during 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 period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $870.75 on Thursday. 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 12 month low of $516.54 and a 12 month high of $873.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $783.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $728.16. The stock has a market cap of $386.03 billion, a PE ratio of 53.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.79.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.43 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $777.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $751.85.

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.