SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 11.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,498 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,244 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.9% of SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,628,694,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after buying an additional 3,100,099 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $510,353,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3,647.1% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 567,641 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $374,688,000 after buying an additional 552,492 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,360,168 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,640,940,000 after buying an additional 485,051 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $860.00 to $890.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $875.00 price objective (up from $800.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $758.70.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $859.36 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $524.63 and a 52-week high of $873.96. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $804.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $742.15. The firm has a market cap of $380.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.24, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.