Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Alta Wealth Advisors LLC

Alta Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,609 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 15 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 1.9% of Alta Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Chicago Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 95,516 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $84,676,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Embree Financial Group increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.0% in the third quarter. Embree Financial Group now owns 893 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $791,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 25.8% in the third quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 482 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Seamount Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. Seamount Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,963 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,741,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 7,040 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,241,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $889.56 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $889.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $833.05. The stock has a market cap of $394.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.12, a P/E/G ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $540.23 and a 1-year high of $923.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,409.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,224 shares of company stock valued at $9,974,973. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Melius Research began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $890.07.

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.