Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Provident Trust Co.

Provident Trust Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 29.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 332,481 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 137,919 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 9.4% of Provident Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Provident Trust Co.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $302,671,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COST. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 31.7% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,901,594 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $22,359,224,000 after buying an additional 5,749,362 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 11.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,515,031 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,488,203,000 after buying an additional 773,651 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 5.5% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,068,312 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,870,314,000 after buying an additional 160,893 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 11.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,839,016 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,828,881,000 after buying an additional 283,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth about $2,362,188,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,125.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,100.00 to $1,015.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,086.19.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.93, for a total transaction of $2,015,046.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,534,244.62. The trade was a 23.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $958.21, for a total transaction of $1,054,031.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,094 shares in the company, valued at $2,964,701.74. This trade represents a 26.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,012.28 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $844.06 and a 1-year high of $1,096.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $448.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $943.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $970.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The retailer reported $6.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.21. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 27.60% and a net margin of 3.04%. The firm had revenue of $95.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.87 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 22.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.32%.

Costco Wholesale Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a membership-based warehouse retail business under the Costco name. The company sells merchandise in bulk and at competitive prices through warehouse clubs and e-commerce platforms, serving individual consumers, businesses and other organizations.

Its product selection includes groceries and fresh foods, household supplies, appliances, electronics, furniture, apparel, health and beauty products, jewelry, automotive products and prescription drugs. Costco also provides services such as optical care, pharmacy services, hearing-aid sales, travel offerings and fuel sales, depending on location.

The company traces its roots to Price Club, which opened in San Diego in 1976.