PFG Investments LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

PFG Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 17,634 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 347 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 1.0% of PFG Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $15,633,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vicus Capital raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 471 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at $259,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during the first quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,809 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,295,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. River Street Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 2,155 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,579,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 370.4% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 127 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $891.22 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $891.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $839.41. The company has a market cap of $394.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.79, a PEG ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.80. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $540.23 and a 1 year high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.86 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was 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 directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was 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 valued at $11,238,510 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale 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.