Scientech Research LLC Sells 1,309 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Scientech Research LLC trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 57.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 965 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,309 shares during the period. Scientech Research LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Vima LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $885.62 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $540.23 and a one year high of $923.83. The company has a market cap of $392.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $870.67 and a 200-day moving average of $816.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 16.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $980.00 price target (up from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $881.19.

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.