Progressive Investment Management Corp Trims Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Progressive Investment Management Corp reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the second quarter, now holding 17,630 shares valued at approximately $17.45 million.
• Despite a slight decrease in holdings from certain investors, a majority of institutional investors collectively own 68.48% of Costco's stock.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, yielding 0.6%, with the dividend payout ratio currently at 28.56%.

Progressive Investment Management Corp decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,630 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 292 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 4.4% of Progressive Investment Management Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Progressive Investment Management Corp's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $17,453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Corps Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer's stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,638 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,499,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Viewpoint Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,543,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on COST. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Argus lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $907.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST opened at $936.33 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $867.34 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market cap of $414.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.42, a PEG ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day moving average of $949.51 and a 200 day moving average of $971.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.15 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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