This article presents an overview of Insiders Are Selling These 5 Retail Stocks. For a detailed overview of such stocks, read our article, Insiders Are Selling These 10 Retail Stocks.

5. Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 57

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) is one of the notable retailers that recently saw insider selling activity. On March 11, Costco Wholesale Corporation’s (NASDAQ:COST) Executive Vice President, Administration, Patrick Callans sold 2,500 shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) at $714.86 per share. Since then the stock has increased by 2.3%.

Insider Monkey’s database of hedge funds and their holdings shows that 57 hedge funds had stakes in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) as of the end of 2023. The biggest stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) is owned by billionaire Ken Fisher who had a $1.8 billion stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST).

Madison Sustainable Equity Fund stated the following regarding Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:

“Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) reported solid holiday results and announced a special dividend of $15 per share. Earnings were better than expected driven by better gross margin. Same store sales were 3.9% with solid traffic. Costco also noted better discretionary trends and solid seasonal sales.”

4. Target Corp (NYSE:TGT)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 58

Target CEO Brian Cornell  on March 11 sold 45,000 shares of the company at $167.52 per share. Since March 11 TGT shares have gained about 5.43%.

Diamond Hill Large Cap Strategy stated the following regarding Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:

Other top contributors in Q4 included Allstate, American International Group (AIG) and Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT). US-based mass retailer Target is capitalizing on cleaner inventory, lower freight costs and improved efficiency to improve profitability — and investors rewarded shares accordingly in Q4.

3. TJX Companies Inc (NYSE:TJX)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 62

Louise Greenlees, who is a senior EVP and VP at TJX, dumped 2,694 shares of TJX Companies Inc (NYSE:TJX) at $98.83 per share on March 1.

The stock slipped about 0.3% since this transaction.

Madison Investments U.S. Equity Strategy stated the following regarding The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:

“Whether it’s performance by market capitalization, sectors, or any other factor, stock markets are intrinsically cyclical. Some cycles are long-term, taking decades to unfold, and some are short-term, lasting months, weeks, or even days. Many are medium in length, lasting two, three, or several years. Most cycles occur because a trend often creates the seeds of its own reversal. We at Madison Investments are certain that market cycles will occur, but it doesn’t mean we can predict their timing or magnitude. We don’t think we can. This is perhaps a major difference between us and many other investors. Most investors believe it’s their job to time market cycles despite overwhelming evidence that it’s nearly impossible to do so with enough accuracy to make such an effort profitable over long periods. We avoid making calls about market cycles and spend zero minutes thinking about them, not because we don’t think they can be important, but because we think they’re inherently unpredictable in duration.

This mentality of our team is generally true for other kinds of cycles, such as macroeconomic, industry, or company-specific, but is a bit more nuanced for those. We make no explicit prediction about cycles on which we base a buy or sell decision. Still, we are acutely aware of the various cyclical forces at work, and depending on whether we think we have the ability to assess the length or intensity of such, we may incorporate them to various degrees.

Let’s use a few examples to illustrate our point. We’ve been invested in off-price retailer The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) for just under ten years, having invested in 2014 in our Large Cap strategy. TJX is one of the most recession-resistant companies we own due to its perennial value proposition to customers; customers always like to save money, especially when economic times get tough. As a result, the company has had an exceedingly steady revenue and earning profile over the past several decades…” (Click here to read the full text)

2. Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 85

Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) is among the retail stocks that were recently dumped by some insiders. John Furner, who is the President and CEO of Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) US, sold 13,125 shares of Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) at $59.51 per share on February 28.  John David Rainey, Walmart EVP and CFO, also sold 3,000 WMT shares on March 1 at $58.55 per share.

Since February 28 Walmart shares have gained about 1.59%.

1. Amazon.com Inc (NYSE:AMZN)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 293

Amazon.com Inc (NYSE:AMZN) CEO Andy Jassy went on a selling spree on Amazon.com Inc’s (NYSE:AMZN) stock as he dumped $9 million worth of Amazon.com Inc (NYSE:AMZN) shares on March 4, letting go of 50,000 shares at $180 a piece. Jonathan Rubenstein, a board member at Amazon.com Inc (NYSE:AMZN), also sold 5,556 AMZN shares on March 4 at $180 per share. Since March 4, Amazon.com Inc (NYSE:AMZN) shares have gained about 1.2%.

Another board member at Amazon.com Inc (NYSE:AMZN), Judith A. McGrath sold 5,760 shares of Amazon.com Inc (NYSE:AMZN) on February 29 at $174.84 per share.

Alger Spectra Fund stated the following regarding Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:

“Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is a well-known online retailer and cloud computing leader. The company’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) business provides utility-scale cloud offerings that facilitate corporate America’s transition to digital systems. During the quarter, shares contributed to performance as Amazon reported strong fiscal third quarter results, where the company beat sales and earnings estimates. Moreover, AWS growth remained steady. contributing to Amazon’s better-than-expected operating income despite concerns around cloud cost optimizations, showing signs of increasing net new cloud workloads. While management noted that customers remain price-conscious and focused on deals, demand remains strong across all segments, leading the company to raise their fiscal fourth quarter revenue and operating income guidance.”

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