New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 14,543 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 364,139 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 14,543 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.8% of New York State Teachers Retirement System's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.08% of Costco Wholesale worth $344,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ COST traded up $3.89 on Thursday, hitting $986.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,090,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,071,229. The company's 50-day moving average is $1,004.80 and its 200 day moving average is $981.10. The firm has a market cap of $437.38 billion, a PE ratio of 55.94, a PEG ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,034.79.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.