Biechele Royce Advisors Sells 26 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Biechele Royce Advisors decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 379 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 26 shares during the quarter. Biechele Royce Advisors’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of COST. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth approximately $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of COST stock traded up $4.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $877.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,625,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,922,796. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $892.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $844.03. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $552.01 and a one year high of $923.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $388.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.95, a P/E/G ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.86 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $980.00 price objective (up previously from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $894.57.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $20,015,745. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Costco Wholesale

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.