Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Baldwin Investment Management LLC

Baldwin Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,855 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 218 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.1% of Baldwin Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Baldwin Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 32,074 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $20,056,000. Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its position 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 stake in 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 worth $2,738,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $971.50 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $582.83 and a 1 year high of $976.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $430.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.63, a P/E/G ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.80. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $903.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $868.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.86 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value 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. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $908.81.

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.