Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Adero Partners LLC

Adero Partners LLC lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,015 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 41 shares during the quarter. Adero Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of COST. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Gordon Haskett raised Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. 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.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $905.30.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 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.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $907.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $401.90 billion, a PE ratio of 54.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $897.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $858.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $572.24 and a 12 month high of $962.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.86 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.00%.

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.