Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Plimoth Trust Co. LLC

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 23.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 589 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 179 shares during the quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $522,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.8% in the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,143,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 52.1% in the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,620 shares in the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,424,000. WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 328.4% in the 3rd quarter. WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.8% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,533 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,003,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of COST opened at $886.77 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $540.23 and a 12-month high of $923.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.94, a P/E/G ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $889.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $835.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. The company’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 will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. 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 research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $890.07.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,560,344. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,224 shares of company stock valued at $9,974,973 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale 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.