Port Capital LLC Sells 59 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Port Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 529 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 59 shares during the quarter. Port Capital LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $982.15 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $435.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.27, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50 day moving average is $910.39 and its 200 day moving average is $875.27. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $591.46 and a 12-month high of $983.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors 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 yield of 0.47%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $908.81.

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.