Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Position Reduced by Glen Eagle Advisors LLC

Glen Eagle Advisors LLC reduced its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,781 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 113 shares during the quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $992.61 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $913.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $876.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $439.80 billion, a PE ratio of 59.90, a P/E/G ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $606.35 and a 1 year high of $997.71.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.86 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.73 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $928.50.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.