Copeland Capital Management LLC Sells 3,083 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Copeland Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,893 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,083 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $17,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price on the stock. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $890.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,224 shares of company stock worth $9,974,973 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $886.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $393.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.94, a PEG ratio of 5.48 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. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $889.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $835.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio 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.