Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) is Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC's 6th Largest Position

Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 8.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,000 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 5,000 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 3.3% of Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $49,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Aspect Partners LLC raised its stake 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 during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Evercore ISI cut their price target 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. Truist Financial upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Barclays upped their price target 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 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 research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,034.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock traded up $5.16 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $992.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,831,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,073,144. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The company has a market cap of $440.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,005.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $981.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. 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. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

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.