Pure Portfolios Holdings LLC Sells 24 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Pure Portfolios Holdings LLC cut its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 855 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 24 shares during the period. Pure Portfolios Holdings LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $808,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Miramar Capital LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 818 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lifeworks Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 895 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $820,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $986.27 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $1,005.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $981.20. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $437.39 billion, a PE ratio of 55.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,034.79.

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.