Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by US Bancorp DE

US Bancorp DE reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 552,314 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,659 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE owned 0.12% of Costco Wholesale worth $489,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at $20,560,344. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $874.18 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $892.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $842.92. 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 52 week low of $549.06 and a 52 week high of $923.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $387.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.76, a PEG ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.