B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Sells 1,632 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 27,223 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,632 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.6% of B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $23,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 57.3% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 626 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $703,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,510,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 77,282 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,013,000 after purchasing an additional 8,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 9,915 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,544,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $885.62 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $870.67 and a 200-day moving average of $817.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $392.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $540.23 and a 1 year high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.86 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 16.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $980.00 price target (up previously from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $881.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.