Progressive Investment Management Corp Has $17.45 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Progressive Investment Management Corp trimmed its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 17,630 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 292 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 4.4% of Progressive Investment Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Progressive Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $17,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,461,159,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 418,980.3% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 2,359,422 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,335,686,000 after buying an additional 2,358,859 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $40,332,515,000 after buying an additional 443,101 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 84.0% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 812,188 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $768,114,000 after purchasing an additional 370,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 2,369.5% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 323,288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $320,036,000 after purchasing an additional 310,197 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 29th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,068.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $936.33 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $867.34 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $414.96 billion, a PE ratio of 51.42, a P/E/G ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $949.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $971.49.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.56%.

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.