Connors Investor Services Inc. Sells 5,144 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Connors Investor Services Inc. trimmed its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 19.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,774 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,144 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 1.6% of Connors Investor Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $15,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. TIAA Trust National Association grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 21,076 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $15,441,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,916,118,000 after acquiring an additional 473,702 shares during the period. Alera Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Alera Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $937,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Spirepoint Private Client LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $8,081,000. Finally, Cooper Haims Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $201,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $920.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $799.33.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,350 shares of company stock valued at $2,837,131. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded down $1.24 on Friday, hitting $838.13. 1,984,385 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,042,677. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $837.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $761.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $371.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.93, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.78. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $530.56 and a 12-month high of $896.67.

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 company had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.