L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP Sells 793 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP lowered its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 29,450 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 793 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 3.2% of L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $26,108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its stake 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 valued at $1,253,508,000 after buying an additional 1,473,248 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 287.3% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $710,802,000 after buying an additional 620,341 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,266,000 after acquiring an additional 618,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,916,118,000 after acquiring an additional 473,702 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $891.22 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $891.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $840.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $395.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.22, a P/E/G ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.