Arrow Financial Corp Sells 1,430 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Arrow Financial Corp reduced its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 27.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,700 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,430 shares during the period. Arrow Financial Corp's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,037.48.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded down $3.87 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $937.32. 872,758 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,210,379. 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 $415.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.17, a PEG ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $793.00 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $995.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $983.27.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

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.