Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Sells 251 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,823 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 251 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 2.2% of Contravisory Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Contravisory Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stanich Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,901,249,000 after acquiring an additional 252,118 shares in the last quarter. Brentview Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $4,522,000. Flavin Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $1,494,000. Finally, RW Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. RW Investment Management LLC now owns 5,624 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,153,000 after acquiring an additional 989 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $1,055.59 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $988.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $977.58. The company has a market cap of $468.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on 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 raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,035.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Costco Wholesale

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.