Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC Sells 12 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,252 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 12 shares during the quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on COST. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of 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, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.9 %

COST stock opened at $964.01 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $901.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $866.19. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $427.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $582.83 and a twelve month high of $976.30.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.