Panagora Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. has reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 0.8%, owning 135,718 shares valued at approximately $128.36 million.
• Several institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing and Vanguard Group, have significantly increased or established new stakes in Costco during the first quarter, indicating strong investor interest.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.6% and a payout ratio of 29.5%.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 135,718 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,149 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $128,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted 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 report 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 on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,050.00.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,147 shares of company stock worth $10,067,740. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $1.64 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $943.32. 1,606,977 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,241,319. The company's fifty day moving average is $966.42 and its 200-day moving average is $980.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $418.34 billion, a PE ratio of 53.51, a PEG ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $867.16 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.