Bridgeway Capital Management LLC Sells 1,220 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Bridgeway Capital Management LLC has reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 21.9%, selling 1,220 shares in the first quarter.
• Institutional investors now own 68.48% of Costco's stock, with significant increases from companies like GAMMA Investing LLC and Vanguard Group Inc.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, which translates to an annualized yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Bridgeway Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 21.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,350 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,220 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.4% during the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at about $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at about $3,095,000. Rossmore Private Capital lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the first quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 6,687 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,325,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at about $241,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley raised 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 report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,050.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,147 shares of company stock worth $8,039,440 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST traded up $7.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $963.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,926,561 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,000,147. The company has a market cap of $427.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.65, a PEG ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 0.97. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $962.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $977.09. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $867.16 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

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.