Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Sells 3,593 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,893 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,593 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.2% of Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $82,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 5.2 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $916.48 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $988.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $948.02. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $702.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $406.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.82, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.