Pitcairn Co. Sells 1,936 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Pitcairn Co. trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 15.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,359 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,936 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.5% of Pitcairn Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $964.01 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $582.83 and a 1 year high of $976.30. The firm has a market cap of $427.12 billion, a PE ratio of 58.18, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $901.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $864.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.86 EPS. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $908.81.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale 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.