Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Acquired by Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 4.8%, now holding 7,650 shares valued at approximately $7.24 million.
• Recent insider transactions included EVP Teresa A. Jones selling 600 shares and EVP Yoram Rubanenko selling 4,000 shares, indicating significant reductions in their stock ownership.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30, equating to an annual yield of 0.5%, with a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,650 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 352 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.3% of Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Schmidt P J Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of COST. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 117,254 shares of the retailer's stock worth $107,436,000 after buying an additional 36,384 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 4,813 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,410,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 489.7% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 5,066 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,642,000 after buying an additional 6,366 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, June 17th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,056.67.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST traded up $3.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $967.90. 1,460,154 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,950,274. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $867.16 and a 1-year 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $960.40 and a 200-day moving average of $975.04. The stock has a market cap of $429.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,147 shares of company stock worth $5,031,130 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.