Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Cuts Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. cut its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,235 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 548 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $35,216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:COST traded down $7.39 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $933.80. 2,053,439 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,979,621. The company has a fifty day moving average of $993.85 and a 200 day moving average of $983.35. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $793.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $414.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.97, a PEG ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. 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. 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 Thursday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 over the last quarter. Company 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.