Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Von Berge Wealth Management Group LLC

Von Berge Wealth Management Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 842 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 15 shares during the quarter. Von Berge Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd 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 period. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $964.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $427.12 billion, a PE ratio of 58.18, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.80. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $901.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $865.47. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $582.83 and a fifty-two week high of $976.30.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.00%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was 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 owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the firm’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 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 sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on COST. StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $908.81.

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.