Scientech Research LLC Lowers Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Scientech Research LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 20.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,627 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 421 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 0.4% of Scientech Research LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Scientech Research LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 4,786 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,386,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Grassi Investment Management grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Grassi Investment Management now owns 5,155 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,723,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,033 shares of the retailer's stock worth $947,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, D. Scott Neal Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $205,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $1,025.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $455.14 billion, a PE ratio of 60.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $961.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $967.12. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $788.20 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.02 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 30.36%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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