Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Pittenger & Anderson Inc.

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. decreased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,926 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 552 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.7% of Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $36,916,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of COST. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Citigroup lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock traded up $7.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $729.45. The company had a trading volume of 660,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,044,761. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $730.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $664.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $323.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $476.75 and a fifty-two week high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 26.68%.

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.