Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 11,771 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 401,704 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 11,771 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.5% of Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Costco Wholesale worth $356,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Loop Capital increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $890.07.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of COST stock opened at $889.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83. The company has a market cap of $394.37 billion, a PE ratio of 55.12, a P/E/G ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $889.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $833.05.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.86 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.75%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,224 shares of company stock valued at $9,974,973 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.