MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 3,388 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 135,477 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,388 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.7% of MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $120,103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth approximately $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,671,983.70. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $974.20 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $582.83 and a 52-week high of $976.30. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $903.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $868.77. The firm has a market cap of $431.64 billion, a PE ratio of 58.63, a P/E/G ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its 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 net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $908.81.

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.