Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC Lowers Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST – Free Report) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,273 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 167 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 48,052 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $25,870,000 after purchasing an additional 9,950 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 10,597 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,705,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA now owns 31,924 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $17,187,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 72,130 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,833,000 after purchasing an additional 6,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northstar Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northstar Asset Management LLC now owns 2,620 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,411,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 66.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $2.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $566.00. 54,421 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,804,901. The company has a market capitalization of $250.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $447.90 and a 52-week high of $576.19. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $555.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $529.81.

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Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 26th. The retailer reported $4.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.79 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $78.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.72 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.10% and a net margin of 2.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.20 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.69 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 25th were given a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 24th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.81%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Caton Frates sold 1,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.64, for a total value of $675,168.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,363 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,705,358.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Patrick J. Callans sold 2,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.76, for a total transaction of $1,384,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 67,934 shares in the company, valued at $37,619,131.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Caton Frates sold 1,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $562.64, for a total value of $675,168.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,363 shares in the company, valued at $4,705,358.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,200 shares of company stock worth $4,033,723. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $600.00 to $612.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 27th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 8th. Loop Capital increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $615.00 to $630.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $575.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $586.25.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on COST

Costco Wholesale Profile

(Free Report)

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Australia, Spain, France, Iceland, China, and Taiwan. It offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.