Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) is Progressive Investment Management Corp’s 6th Largest Position

Progressive Investment Management Corp decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,259 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 336 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 4.3% of Progressive Investment Management Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Progressive Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $16,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of COST opened at $929.66 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $697.27 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $988.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $946.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $412.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. On average, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on COST. 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 report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.