Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC Reduces Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,361 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 210 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 2.5% of Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,928,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 4,472 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,276,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,697 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,372,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Opinicus Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. now owns 1,815 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,330,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,313 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,486,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the period. Finally, First Dallas Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 3,211 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,352,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $849.99 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $524.63 and a 52 week high of $873.96. The company’s 50 day moving average is $801.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $739.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $376.83 billion, a PE ratio of 52.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.62 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $777.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $756.85.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.