Integrated Advisors Network LLC Lowers Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Integrated Advisors Network LLC cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 15,615 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 803 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 0.7% of Integrated Advisors Network LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Integrated Advisors Network LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $14,768,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Collier Financial bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC raised 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 worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $3.34 during trading on Thursday, hitting $1,000.12. 531,352 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,057,202. The stock has a market capitalization of $443.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.73, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $996.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $980.41. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $793.00 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $10,825,205 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on COST. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Barclays upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,035.32.

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.