Progressive Investment Management Corp Cuts Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Progressive Investment Management Corp lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 18,259 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 336 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 4.3% of Progressive Investment Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Progressive Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $16,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,048,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,823,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of COST stock opened at $929.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.59, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $988.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $946.18.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, 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 transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price target (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.