Praxis Investment Management Inc. Trims Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Praxis Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,216 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,367 shares during the period. Praxis Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.1% in the first quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 8,919 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,435,000 after purchasing an additional 960 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 37.8% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 4,500 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 43.5% during the 1st quarter. Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. now owns 515 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,134.00 to $1,146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,025.00 to $1,027.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. Finally, Hovde Group assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $16.00 price target for the company. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $992.70.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $860.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $382.05 billion, a PE ratio of 46.09, a PEG ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $915.22 and a 200 day moving average of $949.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $851.40 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $67.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.03 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 29.35% and a net margin of 2.96%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.04 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 is presently 27.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.