New York State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 399,302 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 16,485 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.7% of New York State Teachers Retirement System’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.09% of Costco Wholesale worth $353,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.8% in the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after buying an additional 932 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 66.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 3,088 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,738,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 52.1% in the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,499,000 after buying an additional 2,620 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,424,000. Finally, WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 328.4% in the 3rd quarter. WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $980.00 price target (up previously from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $879.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $892.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $842.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $389.50 billion, a PE ratio of 53.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $549.06 and a 1 year high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $20,015,745. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.