Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Position Reduced by Pittenger & Anderson Inc.

Key Points

• Pittenger & Anderson Inc. reduced its stake in Costco by 4.4% during the second quarter, now holding 51,927 shares valued at approximately $51.4 million, representing 1.9% of their portfolio.
• Recent earnings reports indicated Costco's EPS was $5.87, exceeding analyst expectations, and revenue reached $86.16 billion, up 8.1% year-over-year.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share to be paid on November 14, with a yield of 0.6% and a dividend payout ratio of 28.56%.

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,927 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,387 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.9% of Pittenger & Anderson Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $51,405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock worth $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,628 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,160,000 after acquiring an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 89.7% during the 1st quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 550 shares of the retailer's stock worth $520,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LVZ Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 935 shares of the retailer's stock worth $884,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on COST. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,130.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.0%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $936.11 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $867.34 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $414.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.41, a P/E/G ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $948.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $971.70.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.15 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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