Covea Finance Sells 7,188 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Covea Finance reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 14.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,992 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 7,188 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.8% of Covea Finance’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Covea Finance’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $40,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152,528 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,394,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519,861 shares during the period. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $95,452,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after acquiring an additional 587,303 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ COST opened at $980.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $434.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1,002.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $981.10.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company 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 firm posted $3.78 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,547 shares of company stock worth $11,361,265. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on COST. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,034.79.

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.