Public Sector Pension Investment Board Cuts Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 71.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 33,611 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 85,853 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $33,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% during the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $884.47 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $916.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $950.64. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $867.12 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $392.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.37, a PEG ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.07. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The business had revenue of $67.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.04 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,125.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Gordon Haskett cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 1st. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $998.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. This trade represents a 28.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company 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.