Thomas Story & Son LLC Decreases Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Thomas Story & Son LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,408 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 19 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 7.0% of Thomas Story & Son LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Thomas Story & Son LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $17,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.7% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 39,631 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $35,134,000 after acquiring an additional 4,785 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,512 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $12,865,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $269,000. Executive Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Executive Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,358 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,750,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cahill Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cahill Wealth Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of several 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 note on Friday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price 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. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $905.30.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $943.80 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $893.49 and its 200-day moving average is $850.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $418.17 billion, a PE ratio of 56.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $562.01 and a 12-month high of $962.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be given 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 0.49%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.00%.

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.