Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Position Lessened by Petra Financial Advisors Inc.

Petra Financial Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 47.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 985 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 897 shares during the quarter. Petra Financial Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital & Planning LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,441,000 after purchasing an additional 837 shares during the last quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,214,000. May Barnhard Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $485,000. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,852 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,529,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock worth $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the 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 now owns 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,547 shares of company stock valued at $11,361,265 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST traded up $5.39 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $980.29. 3,250,821 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,063,545. The company has a market capitalization of $434.74 billion, a PE ratio of 55.60, a PEG ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,002.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $981.03. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during 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 company's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

Costco Wholesale 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.