Grandfield & Dodd LLC Sells 455 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Grandfield & Dodd LLC cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,742 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 455 shares during the period. Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.3% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,719 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 50.6% during the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 13,181 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,658,000 after purchasing an additional 4,427 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 194.1% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 5,453 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,995,000 after buying an additional 3,599 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.9% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,114 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,934,000 after buying an additional 1,482 shares during the period. Finally, Cadence Bank boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 4,168 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,054,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.2 %

COST stock opened at $930.15 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $898.80 and its 200 day moving average is $862.25. The stock has a market cap of $412.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $577.34 and a 1-year high of $962.00.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given 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 yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Melius Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price 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, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $908.81.

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.