Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Holdings Lowered by Wealth Quarterback LLC

Wealth Quarterback LLC reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,075 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 130 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.0% of Wealth Quarterback LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Wealth Quarterback LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted 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 worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $3,095,000. BluePointe Capital Management LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 46.8% in the first quarter. BluePointe Capital Management LLC now owns 765 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $724,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 32,571 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,805,000 after buying an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total transaction of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $913.86 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $871.71 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $937.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $967.78. The stock has a market cap of $405.00 billion, a PE ratio of 50.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. 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 note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,140.00 to $1,134.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,063.88.

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.