Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Position Trimmed by Davis R M Inc.

Davis R M Inc. trimmed its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 112,995 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 805 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.5% of Davis R M Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $60,834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Libra Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth about $210,000. Gateway Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Profund Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 5.3% in the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 25,186 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $13,560,000 after buying an additional 1,263 shares during the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the second quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,647 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,809,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the second quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 10,546 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,678,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. 66.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on COST. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $482.00 to $502.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $600.00 to $612.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $535.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $586.43.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $579.24 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $564.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $543.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $256.45 billion, a PE ratio of 40.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.78. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $447.90 and a 12-month high of $599.89.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 26th. The retailer reported $4.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.79 by $0.07. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.10% and a net margin of 2.60%. The business had revenue of $78.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.20 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 3rd were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 2nd. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.81%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, CFO Richard A. Galanti sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $566.09, for a total value of $1,132,180.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,412 shares in the company, valued at $14,385,479.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Richard A. Galanti sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $566.09, for a total transaction of $1,132,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,385,479.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Caton Frates sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.64, for a total value of $675,168.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,705,358.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,797,118. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.