Bensler LLC Sells 349 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Bensler LLC decreased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,289 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 349 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.3% of Bensler LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Bensler LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on COST shares. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $905.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $913.93 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $404.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.16, a PEG ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $891.92 and its 200 day moving average is $848.69. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $562.01 and a 1-year high of $923.83.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

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.