Acadian Asset Management LLC Has $131.57 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Acadian Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 179,611 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 7,011 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $131,568,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 272,288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $179,822,000 after acquiring an additional 61,122 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 21,514 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $14,201,000 after acquiring an additional 2,909 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 1,010 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $740,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Strong Tower Advisory Services increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,350 shares of company stock worth $2,837,131 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $1.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $838.13. The company had a trading volume of 1,984,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,042,677. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $837.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $761.36. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $530.56 and a 12 month high of $896.67. The stock has a market cap of $371.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.93, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.78. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last released 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 firm had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.43 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on COST shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Argus lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Tigress Financial lifted 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $799.33.

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.