Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Verity & Verity LLC

Verity & Verity LLC cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,530 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 99 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $955.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $883.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,560,344. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $877.38 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $388.97 billion, a PE ratio of 54.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $871.96 and a 200-day moving average of $819.44. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $540.23 and a 52-week high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 16.02 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

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.