Pitcairn Co. Sells 252 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Pitcairn Co. lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,107 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 252 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.5% of Pitcairn Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST opened at $965.08 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $988.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $947.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $428.19 billion, a PE ratio of 56.67, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 27.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on COST shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,029.00.

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.