Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Holdings Lessened by Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC

Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 8.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 52,000 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 5,000 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 3.3% of Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $49,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after acquiring an additional 252,118 shares during the period. F&V Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Umpqua Bank boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 4,507 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,134,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $241,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 68,976 shares of the retailer's stock worth $63,200,000 after buying an additional 16,967 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $3.91 on Friday, reaching $986.27. 1,101,351 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,076,297. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,005.20 and a 200 day moving average of $981.08. 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $793.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $437.39 billion, a PE ratio of 55.94, a P/E/G ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders 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 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 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.