Pecaut & CO. Sells 488 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Pecaut & CO. reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,446 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 488 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 2.4% of Pecaut & CO.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Pecaut & CO.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,043,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares in the last quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth $3,095,000. Finally, Umpqua Bank raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 4,507 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,134,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $953.91 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1,000.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $982.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $423.04 billion, a PE ratio of 54.11, a PEG ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.