First Pacific Financial Reduces Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

First Pacific Financial lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,683 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 1.0% of First Pacific Financial’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. First Pacific Financial’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,091,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 3,211 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,120,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 1,291 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Shira Ridge Wealth Management lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Shira Ridge Wealth Management now owns 1,367 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Finally, Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Global Strategic Investment Solutions LLC now owns 1,602 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,057,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on COST. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Northcoast Research cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $620.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $585.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $668.50.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Caton Frates sold 740 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.50, for a total value of $505,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,593,803.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,582 shares of company stock worth $10,736,778. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $732.08 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $476.75 and a 1 year high of $787.08. The company’s 50-day moving average is $723.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $641.98. 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 $324.68 billion, a PE ratio of 47.88, a PEG ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.