Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Position Lowered by Arjuna Capital

Key Points

• Arjuna Capital reduced its stake in Costco by 14.1%, owning 5,257 shares valued at approximately $4.97 million, making Costco its 15th largest holding.
• Several hedge funds, including Brighton Jones LLC and Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG, have increased their positions in Costco during the fourth quarter, indicating growing institutional interest.
• Costco has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, which corresponds to an annualized dividend of $5.20 and a yield of 0.5%, with a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Arjuna Capital cut its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 14.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,257 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 861 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.4% of Arjuna Capital's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Arjuna Capital's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,972,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock worth $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased 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 buying an additional 36,384 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 4,813 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,410,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Value Partners LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,501 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,789,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock traded up $3.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $980.98. 2,188,224 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,172,175. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $837.63 and a twelve 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. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $977.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $984.85. The firm has a market cap of $435.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (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 period in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,040.81.

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.