Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Has $7.15 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,060 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 537 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.7% of Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised 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 valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on COST. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target on the stock. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Melius Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective on the stock. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded down $3.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $960.89. 3,240,929 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,934,416. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $902.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $867.47. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $582.83 and a one year high of $976.30. 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 firm has a market cap of $425.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

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.