Zevin Asset Management LLC Cuts Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Zevin Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 28,637 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 327 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 3.9% of Zevin Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Zevin Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $25,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 287.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $710,802,000 after purchasing an additional 620,341 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,266,000 after purchasing an additional 618,383 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $285,618,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $907.07 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $572.24 and a one year high of $962.00. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $897.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $859.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $401.90 billion, a PE ratio of 54.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on COST. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $905.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were 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 directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.