Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Trims Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lowered its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 25,844 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,246 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $22,911,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,745,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Oak Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Perkins Coie Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the third quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,144,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% during the third quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the 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 directly owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This 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 worth $9,826,115 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Melius Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $928.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $411.20 billion, a PE ratio of 56.01, a P/E/G ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $899.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $862.71. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $577.71 and a twelve month high of $962.00.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

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.