Jackson Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Jackson Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,359 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 326 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 2.3% of Jackson Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Jackson Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Miramar Capital LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 818 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lifeworks Advisors LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 895 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $986.27 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $793.00 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $437.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.94, a PEG ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1,005.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $981.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.50%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,034.79.

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.