Crescent Grove Advisors LLC Sells 14 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Crescent Grove Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 896 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 14 shares during the period. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Vima LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $920.00 to $915.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $824.50.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of COST traded up $5.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $881.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,464,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,974,630. The business has a fifty day moving average of $850.13 and a 200 day moving average of $786.19. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $530.56 and a 1 year high of $896.67. The company has a market cap of $390.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.43 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,970 shares of company stock worth $4,249,526. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.