Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC Sells 89 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,518 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 89 shares during the quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COST. Capital & Planning LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,441,000 after purchasing an additional 837 shares during the last quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,214,000. May Barnhard Investments LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $485,000. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,852 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,529,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on COST. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,825,205. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $977.72 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $433.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.46, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company’s fifty day moving average is $1,002.19 and its 200-day moving average is $981.16.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

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.