Brown Financial Advisors Sells 220 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Brown Financial Advisors decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 14.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,343 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 220 shares during the quarter. Brown Financial Advisors’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,190,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 2,236 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,901,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 25.0% during the second quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 500 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 21.1% in the second quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,138 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,817,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, James J. Burns & Company LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth about $471,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $993.40 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $440.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.95, a PEG ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $917.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $880.63. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $618.76 and a 52-week high of $997.71.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on COST. StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Truist Financial downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $931.89.

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.