Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Trims Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,826 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 409 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $36,455,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% in the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, eCIO Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,966.10. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,130.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $920.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $867.34 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $940.48 and its 200 day moving average is $970.92. The company has a market cap of $407.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.53, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Costco Wholesale Profile

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.