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

MetLife Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 131,022 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,156 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 0.5% of MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $70,540,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COST. HSBC began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $615.00 to $630.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $570.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $586.43.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of COST stock traded up $2.78 during trading on Monday, reaching $579.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 438,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,800,827. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $256.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $564.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $543.03. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $447.90 and a 1-year high of $599.89.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.79 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $78.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.72 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 28.10%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.20 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.71 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, CFO Richard A. Galanti sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $566.09, for a total transaction of $1,132,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 25,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,385,479.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $548.92, for a total transaction of $1,407,979.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,461,621.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Richard A. Galanti sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $566.09, for a total transaction of $1,132,180.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 25,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,385,479.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,265 shares of company stock worth $10,797,118 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale

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.