Carmel Capital Partners LLC Sells 73 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Carmel Capital Partners LLC lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 12.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 519 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 73 shares during the quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $514,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Corps Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the first quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.6% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the first quarter. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,638 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,499,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Aspect Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Viewpoint Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the first quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,543,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the 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 approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $936.33 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $414.96 billion, a PE ratio of 51.42, a PEG ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $867.34 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $949.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $971.49.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,068.15.

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.