Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Miramar Capital LLC

Miramar Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 11.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 515 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 67 shares during the period. Miramar Capital LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,534,464,000 after buying an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 287.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $710,802,000 after purchasing an additional 620,341 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,266,000 after purchasing an additional 618,383 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $285,618,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $907.07 on Friday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $897.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $857.72. The company has a market cap of $401.90 billion, a PE ratio of 54.74, a P/E/G ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $572.24 and a fifty-two week high of $962.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on COST. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays increased 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 report on Friday, September 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $905.30.

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.