Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV Lowers Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 12.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,056 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 297 shares during the quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.8% in the third quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after buying an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 66.9% in the third quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 3,088 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,738,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 52.1% during the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,620 shares in the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $6,424,000. Finally, WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 328.4% during the third quarter. WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $879.09 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $549.06 and a 52-week high of $923.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $892.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $842.70. The company has a market capitalization of $389.50 billion, a PE ratio of 53.05, a P/E/G ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on COST shares. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $894.57.

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.