Patton Fund Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Patton Fund Management Inc. reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 22.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,900 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,455 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 1.1% of Patton Fund Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,634,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the first quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI now owns 3,393 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,209,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Vivid Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vivid Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,699 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,552,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Vista Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 33.5% in the first quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the retailer's stock worth $995,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. AA Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 909 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $860,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Inscription Capital LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,640,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded down $2.82 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $974.90. The stock had a trading volume of 1,506,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,065,456. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $432.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.30, a PEG ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $1,002.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $981.16. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.30 dividend. 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. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Loop Capital lowered 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 report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company'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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,000 shares of company stock worth $10,825,205 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.