Independent Advisor Alliance Has $29.24 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Independent Advisor Alliance trimmed its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,981 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,183 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.1% of Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $29,238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,489,574,000 after buying an additional 32,074 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.8% in the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,143,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,133,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $20,056,000. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 66.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 3,088 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $964.01 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $427.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.18, a P/E/G ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $582.83 and a 1 year high of $976.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $901.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $866.19.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 EPS. As a group, analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Redburn Atlantic lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $908.81.

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.