Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Sells 203 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,087 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 203 shares during the quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,510,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 62.8% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,133,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 66.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 3,088 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,738,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 52.1% in the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,424,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on COST. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $980.00 price objective (up from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $905.30.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.0 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $923.90 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $572.24 and a 52 week high of $962.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $896.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $855.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $409.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

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.