Prentice Wealth Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Prentice Wealth Management LLC cut its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,578 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 159 shares during the quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,492,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,394,465,000 after buying an additional 1,519,861 shares during the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $95,452,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after buying an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on COST. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $990.21 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $439.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.15, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $1,000.43 and its 200 day moving average is $980.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,000 shares of company stock worth $10,825,205 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.