Spectrum Wealth Advisory Group LLC Decreases Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Spectrum Wealth Advisory Group LLC lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 29.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 477 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 202 shares during the period. Spectrum Wealth Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price objective for the company. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $905.30.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,671,983.70. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $909.94 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $897.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $859.62. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $403.17 billion, a PE ratio of 54.74, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $577.34 and a 1 year high of $962.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.