Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Holdings Lessened by STF Management LP

STF Management LP trimmed its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,457 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 594 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 2.6% of STF Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. STF Management LP’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,724,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in 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 worth $6,534,464,000 after buying an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,650,562 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,102,941,000 after buying an additional 88,550 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,127 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,013,394,000 after buying an additional 125,444 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,489,574,000 after buying an additional 32,074 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 28.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,307,363,000 after buying an additional 338,780 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $958.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $424.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.83, a PEG ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $582.83 and a one year high of $962.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $900.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $863.38.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on COST. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, November 4th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.