Pitcairn Co. Trims Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Pitcairn Co. cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 15.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,359 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,936 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.5% of Pitcairn Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.3% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,719 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 656.4% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 101,028 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $74,015,000 after purchasing an additional 87,672 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 74.9% during the 1st quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 7,715 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,652,000 after purchasing an additional 3,303 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 512 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 210.5% during the 1st quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $964.01 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $901.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $864.82. The firm has a market cap of $427.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $582.83 and a twelve month high of $976.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. 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 company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $908.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % 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 company insiders.

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.