Buffington Mohr McNeal Sells 484 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Buffington Mohr McNeal lessened its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,621 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 484 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 4.7% of Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $26,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,628,694,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,049,630,000 after buying an additional 3,100,099 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $510,353,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3,647.1% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 567,641 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $374,688,000 after acquiring an additional 552,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,360,168 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,640,940,000 after acquiring an additional 485,051 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $859.36 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $380.98 billion, a PE ratio of 53.24, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.78. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $524.63 and a 1-year high of $873.96. The business’s 50 day moving average is $804.55 and its 200-day moving average is $742.15.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 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 business had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.43 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on COST. Truist Financial increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $860.00 to $890.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $700.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $758.70.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.