Granite Investment Partners LLC Trims Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Granite Investment Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,230 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 221 shares during the quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 635.7% in the second quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 2,206 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider directly 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 sale 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $911.96 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $921.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $958.18. The company has a market cap of $404.16 billion, a PE ratio of 50.08, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $871.71 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $16.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,025.07.

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.