Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Holdings Decreased by National Wealth Management Group LLC

National Wealth Management Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 79.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 238 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 909 shares during the quarter. National Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock 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 company has a market cap of $426.03 billion, a PE ratio of 58.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $905.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $869.42. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $582.83 and a fifty-two week high of $976.30.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released 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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given 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 is presently 28.00%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % 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. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating 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 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.