Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC

Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 16.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,540 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 306 shares during the period. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew 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 valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew 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 valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Barclays raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $890.07.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.5 %

COST stock opened at $889.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $394.14 billion, a PE ratio of 53.69, a PEG 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. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $889.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $832.21. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $540.23 and a one year high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.86 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.00%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 completion of 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,224 shares of company stock worth $9,974,973. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.