Banco Santander S.A. Sells 904 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Banco Santander S.A. lowered its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,563 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 904 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $958.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $900.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $863.38. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $582.83 and a 52 week high of $962.00. The company has a market capitalization of $424.57 billion, a PE ratio of 57.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Redburn Atlantic cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $908.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.