Davis Capital Management Sells 225 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Davis Capital Management decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 13.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,484 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 225 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,628,694,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100,099 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3,647.1% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 567,641 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $374,688,000 after acquiring an additional 552,492 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,360,168 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,640,940,000 after acquiring an additional 485,051 shares during the period. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $297,915,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the 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 approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $777.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Argus upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 price target (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $751.85.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $870.75 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $783.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $728.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $386.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.95, a PEG ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $516.54 and a 1-year high of $873.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

About Costco Wholesale

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.