Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 154,026 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,075 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.1% of D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $136,548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $2,489,574,000 after purchasing an additional 32,074 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 62.8% during 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 buying an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth $20,056,000. Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,133,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 66.9% during the third quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 3,088 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,738,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Gordon Haskett raised Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten investment 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $908.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’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 directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $960.89 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $582.83 and a fifty-two week high of $976.30. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $902.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $867.47. 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 company has a market cap of $425.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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. 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.