Gouws Capital LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Gouws Capital LLC lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,162 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 20 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 7.9% of Gouws Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Gouws Capital LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $11,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,004,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 22.3% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,719 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 44.4% during the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 10,902 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,987,000 after acquiring an additional 3,352 shares during the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 15,843 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,607,000 after acquiring an additional 793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Towercrest Capital Management bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $257,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price on the stock. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $905.30.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.6 %

COST stock traded down $5.79 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $918.10. 550,219 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,922,292. The company has a market cap of $406.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.35, a P/E/G ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $897.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $856.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $572.24 and a 52 week high of $962.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.86 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.