Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.

Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,455 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 15 shares during the quarter. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Convergence Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 25.5% during the 3rd quarter. Convergence Financial LLC now owns 2,624 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,326,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $939,000. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 3,755 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,329,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Tarbox Family Office Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tarbox Family Office Inc. now owns 894 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $793,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BayBridge Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC now owns 1,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,536,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $891.22 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $891.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $839.41. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83. The firm has a market cap of $394.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.79, a P/E/G ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on COST. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $894.57.

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.