Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Stock Holdings Decreased by Baskin Financial Services Inc.

Baskin Financial Services Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,712 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,246 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 4.5% of Baskin Financial Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Baskin Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $56,179,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Miramontes Capital LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the third quarter. Miramontes Capital LLC now owns 6,323 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,756,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.6% during the third quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 568 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Cottage Street Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.8% during the third quarter. Cottage Street Advisors LLC now owns 480 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Ardent Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ardent Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,069 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,435,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 43.4% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 42,484 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,675,000 after acquiring an additional 12,856 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST traded up $3.58 on Monday, hitting $992.69. The company had a trading volume of 600,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,187,307. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $933.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $963.04. The company has a market capitalization of $439.89 billion, a PE ratio of 47.84, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.88. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $844.06 and a 12-month high of $1,096.50.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 24th. The retailer reported $6.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.21. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.04% and a return on equity of 27.60%. The business had revenue of $95.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.97 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.87 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 22.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.32%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.93, for a total value of $2,015,046.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,534,244.62. The trade was a 23.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $958.21, for a total value of $1,054,031.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,094 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,964,701.74. This trade represents a 26.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,011.00 to $955.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Twenty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,087.40.

Costco Wholesale Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a membership-based warehouse retail business under the Costco name. The company sells merchandise in bulk and at competitive prices through warehouse clubs and e-commerce platforms, serving individual consumers, businesses and other organizations.

Its product selection includes groceries and fresh foods, household supplies, appliances, electronics, furniture, apparel, health and beauty products, jewelry, automotive products and prescription drugs. Costco also provides services such as optical care, pharmacy services, hearing-aid sales, travel offerings and fuel sales, depending on location.

The company traces its roots to Price Club, which opened in San Diego in 1976.