Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Holdings Reduced by Bellecapital International Ltd.

Bellecapital International Ltd. lowered its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,238 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 81 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 4.4% of Bellecapital International Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $22,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on COST. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $980.00 target price (up previously from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $890.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, 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 transaction of $431,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,224 shares of company stock worth $9,974,973. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of COST stock traded down $5.86 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $883.70. The stock had a trading volume of 263,336 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,936,877. The firm has a market capitalization of $391.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.48 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 12-month low of $540.23 and a 12-month high of $923.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $889.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $833.95.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.86 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

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.