Garner Asset Management Corp Sells 45 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Garner Asset Management Corp lowered its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,753 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 45 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.9% of Garner Asset Management Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Garner Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,745,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the second quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the second quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the third quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,144,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $964.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $427.12 billion, a PE ratio of 58.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $901.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $865.47. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $582.83 and a one year high of $976.30. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last released 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 return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. 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 firm posted $4.86 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid 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 dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. This represents a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price objective on the stock. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average 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.