Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 2,553 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Welch & Forbes LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 163,058 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,553 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 2.0% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $161,418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of COST. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at $3,461,159,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 418,980.3% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 2,359,422 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,335,686,000 after purchasing an additional 2,358,859 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $40,332,515,000 after acquiring an additional 443,101 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 84.0% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 812,188 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $768,114,000 after acquiring an additional 370,806 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2,369.5% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 323,288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $320,036,000 after buying an additional 310,197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. This represents a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of COST stock opened at $911.45 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $867.34 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market cap of $403.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.05, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $939.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $970.40.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be given 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 is currently 28.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on COST shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 29th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale 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.