Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,387 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 94 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $21,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.8% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 21,557 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $19,111,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.5% in the third quarter. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. now owns 1,415 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,255,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Curi RMB Capital LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 47.9% during the third quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 2,721 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,412,000 after buying an additional 881 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 88,206 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $78,197,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.9% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 195,895 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $173,665,000 after buying an additional 9,113 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of COST traded down $8.91 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $924.82. The company had a trading volume of 115,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,920,606. The stock has a market cap of $409.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.35, a PEG ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $896.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $855.99. 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 data 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 analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.86 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on COST. Truist Financial lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $980.00 price objective (up previously from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price for the company. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $905.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. This represents a 0.00 % 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 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% 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.