McIlrath & Eck LLC Sells 72 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

McIlrath & Eck LLC trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,429 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 72 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.7% of McIlrath & Eck LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. McIlrath & Eck LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on COST. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $931.89.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $993.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $440.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.95, a PEG ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $618.76 and a 1-year high of $997.71. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $917.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $880.63. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last quarter. Corporate 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.