Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Pure Financial Advisors LLC

Pure Financial Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,752 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 42 shares during the quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,739,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Vima LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 price target (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $925.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $824.50.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded down $6.76 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $870.59. The company had a trading volume of 1,516,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,987,382. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $848.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $781.98. The stock has a market cap of $385.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $530.56 and a twelve month high of $896.67.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,970 shares of company stock worth $4,249,526. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale

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.