Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA Sells 1,472 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA lessened its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 248,741 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,472 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 2.0% of Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $222,230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the 2nd 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 purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $879.09 on Thursday. 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 12 month low of $549.06 and a 12 month high of $923.83. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $892.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $842.70. The stock has a market cap of $389.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.05, a PEG ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 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 business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.86 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $20,015,745. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $20,015,745. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on COST. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $980.00 target price (up previously from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $894.57.

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.