Acadian Asset Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC significantly reduced its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 52.8%, selling 192,006 shares and now owning 171,560 shares valued at $162.23 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Geneos Wealth Management and Schmidt P J Investment Management, raised their stakes in Costco during the 1st quarter, reflecting ongoing interest from major investors.
• Costco announced a $1.30 quarterly dividend paid to investors, representing a 0.5% yield, as well as positive price targets from several analysts, indicating strong market confidence.

Acadian Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 52.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 171,560 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 192,006 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $162,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 117,254 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $107,436,000 after acquiring an additional 36,384 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 4,813 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,410,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 489.7% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 5,066 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,642,000 after acquiring an additional 6,366 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,147 shares of company stock worth $5,031,130. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock traded up $3.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $967.90. 1,460,154 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,950,274. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $960.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $975.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $429.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.90, a P/E/G ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $867.16 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,056.67.

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.