Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Trims Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 423,947 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,672 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.2% of Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $375,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of COST opened at $971.88 on Monday. 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 1 year low of $582.83 and a 1 year high of $976.30. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $907.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $872.68. The firm has a market cap of $430.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.86 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $908.81.

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.