Petra Financial Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Petra Financial Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COSTFree Report) by 47.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 985 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 897 shares during the period. Petra Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $931,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares in the last quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at $236,000. AMJ Financial Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management now owns 10,536 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,654,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 4,507 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,134,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the period. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at $241,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,547 shares of company stock worth $11,361,265 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $980.29 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1,002.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $981.10. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $434.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.60, a PEG ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COSTGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on COST

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)

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