Bristlecone Advisors LLC Sells 1,616 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Bristlecone Advisors LLC reduced its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,682 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,616 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 2.0% of Bristlecone Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Bristlecone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $24,541,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,534,464,000 after buying an additional 7,364,453 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473,248 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 287.3% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $710,802,000 after acquiring an additional 620,341 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,266,000 after purchasing an additional 618,383 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,916,118,000 after purchasing an additional 473,702 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $894.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’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 directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were 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 $20,560,344. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $891.22 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $891.76 and its 200 day moving average is $840.23. 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 cap of $395.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.22, a PEG ratio of 5.50 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.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

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.