Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stake Lessened by Emerald Advisors LLC

Emerald Advisors LLC reduced its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 626,951 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,512 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 79.6% of Emerald Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Emerald Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Costco Wholesale worth $557,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,916,118,000 after purchasing an additional 473,702 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,802,147,000 after purchasing an additional 285,533 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,650,562 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,102,941,000 after purchasing an additional 88,550 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 28.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,307,363,000 after purchasing an additional 338,780 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,409.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $905.30.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $899.25 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $891.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $848.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $562.01 and a 1-year high of $923.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $398.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.27, a PEG ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio 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.