Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Freedom Investment Management Inc.

Freedom Investment Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 27.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,782 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 668 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,489,574,000 after acquiring an additional 32,074 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 62.8% in the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $20,056,000. Hudson Value Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,133,000 after buying an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 66.9% during the third quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 3,088 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,738,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $961.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $426.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $905.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $869.42. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $582.83 and a 1-year high of $976.30.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The business 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on COST. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Truist Financial downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $908.81.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $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 sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.