Pachira Investments Inc. Sells 20 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Pachira Investments Inc. reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,077 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 20 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.6% of Pachira Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Pachira Investments Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. DMC Group LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. DMC Group LLC now owns 2,020 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Madrona Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Madrona Financial Services LLC now owns 5,740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,205,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 48.5% in the first quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,102 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $802,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2,221.2% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 41,480 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,384,000 after purchasing an additional 39,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 82.8% during the first quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 731 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4 %

COST opened at $862.66 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $382.44 billion, a PE ratio of 53.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $807.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $743.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $524.63 and a 52 week high of $873.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $860.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $777.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $758.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.