Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Northcape Wealth Management LLC

Northcape Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,751 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 23 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 2.0% of Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.8% in the third 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. Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,133,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 66.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 3,088 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,738,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 52.1% during the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patton Fund Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at about $6,424,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research 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. Gordon Haskett raised Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $905.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $907.07 on Friday. 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. The stock has a market cap of $401.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.74, a PEG ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $897.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $857.72.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

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.