Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV Trims Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,897 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 602 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 2.6% of Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,745,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Oak Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the second quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,737,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the second quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Perkins Coie Trust Co raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the third quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,144,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.5% during the third quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on COST. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $894.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,224 shares of company stock valued at $9,974,973 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $886.77 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $889.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $835.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $393.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $540.23 and a 52-week high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.86 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

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.