Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by ABLE Financial Group LLC

ABLE Financial Group LLC decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,985 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 20 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.1% of ABLE Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. ABLE Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,745,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,737,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the second quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,144,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.7% during the third quarter. Horizon Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at $20,560,344. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $905.30.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST traded up $16.53 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $930.46. The stock had a trading volume of 716,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,917,361. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $562.01 and a 12 month high of $932.16. The company’s 50-day moving average is $891.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $848.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $412.26 billion, a PE ratio of 56.04, a PEG ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 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.