Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Position Trimmed by Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.

Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,663 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 2.4% of Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,534,464,000 after acquiring an additional 7,364,453 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 287.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $710,802,000 after purchasing an additional 620,341 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,266,000 after purchasing an additional 618,383 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,916,118,000 after purchasing an additional 473,702 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was 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 directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $891.22 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $891.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $840.23. 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 1-year low of $540.23 and a 1-year high of $923.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $395.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.80.

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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $894.57.

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.