Harbor Investment Advisory LLC Decreases Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Harbor Investment Advisory LLC cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,693 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 81 shares during the quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Vima LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,097,624. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded up $7.44 on Friday, hitting $883.11. The stock had a trading volume of 1,517,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,961,015. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $875.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $821.29. The stock has a market cap of $391.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $540.23 and a 52-week high of $923.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.30%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Melius Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $883.04.

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.