Kentucky Retirement Systems Reduces Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,885 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,536 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.8% of Kentucky Retirement Systems’ portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $27,380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Vawter Financial Ltd. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vawter Financial Ltd. now owns 420 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.7% in the third quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 9,022 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,998,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at approximately $764,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.3% during the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 1,132 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 501 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. 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 report on Tuesday, September 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $905.30.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of COST stock opened at $907.07 on Friday. The business’s 50 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $572.24 and a 12 month high of $962.00. The company has a market cap of $401.90 billion, a PE ratio of 54.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, 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 transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.