Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC Decreases Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,880 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 311 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.0% of Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares during the last quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth about $236,000. Umpqua Bank increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 4,507 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,134,000 after buying an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at approximately $241,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 68,976 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $63,200,000 after buying an additional 16,967 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was 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 owned 58,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of COST stock opened at $986.27 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $793.00 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $437.39 billion, a PE ratio of 55.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,005.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $981.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation 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 paid a $1.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend 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.