Transform Wealth LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Transform Wealth LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 26.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,352 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,895 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.1% of Transform Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Transform Wealth LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $11,980,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $1.45 during trading on Friday, reaching $852.07. The company had a trading volume of 403,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,958,104. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $524.63 and a 12-month high of $873.96. The stock has a market cap of $377.75 billion, a PE ratio of 53.05, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50-day moving average is $796.35 and its 200 day moving average is $736.82. 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $860.00 to $890.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 2nd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $676.00 target price (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $756.85.

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.