Petredis Investment Advisors LLC Sells 3,049 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Petredis Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 18.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,273 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,049 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 1.3% of Petredis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,035.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was 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 owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $10,825,205. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.1%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,007.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $446.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $995.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $980.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

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.