Taurus Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Taurus Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,824 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 2.5% of Taurus Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Taurus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $25,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.3% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,719 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,655,000 after buying an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 20.3% in the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 7,298 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,347,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 120.4% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 7,515 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,506,000 after purchasing an additional 4,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 500.0% in the 1st quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 60,000 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $43,958,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $907.07 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $572.24 and a fifty-two week high of $962.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $401.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.74, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average of $897.62 and a 200 day moving average of $859.62.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its 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. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $905.30.

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.