Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Holdings Cut by Wealth Architects LLC

Wealth Architects LLC lowered its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,388 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Wealth Architects LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.6%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $935.56 on Tuesday. 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 cap of $414.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.34 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $951.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $972.04.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 29th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,130.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,066.23.

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.