Two Sigma Advisers LP Cuts Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Two Sigma Advisers LP trimmed its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 325,300 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 294,200 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $288,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $982.26 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $913.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $876.82. 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 $603.86 and a 52-week high of $991.15. The company has a market cap of $435.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.28, a PEG ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $928.50.

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.