Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Trims Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,126 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,179 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.8% of Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $11,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the first quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.3% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,719 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 21,076 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $15,441,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Hutner Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the first quarter. Hutner Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,330 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,964,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ironsides Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 8.0% during the first quarter. Ironsides Asset Advisors LLC now owns 366 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $907.07 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $572.24 and a 52 week high of $962.00. The company has a market capitalization of $401.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.74, a P/E/G ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $897.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $857.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $905.30.

Costco Wholesale 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.