ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C. Lowers Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C. cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 78.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 311 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,154 shares during the period. ORBA Wealth Advisors L.L.C.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 12,769 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $12,640,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. 360 Financial Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. 360 Financial Inc. now owns 2,542 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,516,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC now owns 559 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Arrowroot Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $1,679,000. Finally, Ring Mountain Capital LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ring Mountain Capital LLC now owns 431 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $940.74 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $939.25 and a 200-day moving average of $969.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $416.92 billion, a PE ratio of 51.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $871.71 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.56%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at $6,410,343.68. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 29th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price target for the company. Daiwa Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,064.85.

About Costco Wholesale

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.