Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by SBB Research Group LLC

SBB Research Group LLC lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 17.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,852 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 790 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 3.8% of SBB Research Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. SBB Research Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Agur Provident & Training Funds Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, 25 LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $535.00 to $585.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $600.00 to $612.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $651.00 to $652.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $615.00 to $630.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $586.43.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of COST traded down $1.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $577.15. 1,774,272 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,823,492. The firm has a market capitalization of $255.53 billion, a PE ratio of 40.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $447.90 and a 1-year high of $599.89. The business has a fifty day moving average of $564.00 and a 200-day moving average of $542.66.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 26th. The retailer reported $4.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.79 by $0.07. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 28.10%. The business had revenue of $78.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.20 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.71 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 3rd were paid a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.12, for a total value of $1,713,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,238,852.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Richard A. Galanti sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $565.57, for a total transaction of $1,131,140.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,138 shares in the company, valued at $15,914,008.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.12, for a total value of $1,713,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,238,852.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,265 shares of company stock worth $10,797,118. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.