Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 24.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 56,483 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 18,452 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $55,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI now owns 16,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,718,000 after buying an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,638 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $20,430,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,436,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth about $3,095,000. Finally, Rossmore Private Capital boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 6,687 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,325,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ COST opened at $946.51 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $867.34 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $951.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $971.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $419.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.98, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.15 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on COST. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,068.04.

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.