ST Germain D J Co. Inc. Sells 173 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,427 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 173 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.9% in the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,406 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,885,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,759 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,745,000 after buying an additional 2,177 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 414 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. IFG Advisors LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 6.6% during the third quarter. IFG Advisors LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $964,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the third quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,129 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,661,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other 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 transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 transaction, the executive vice president now 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 have sold a total of 11,224 shares of company stock worth $9,974,973 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $889.56 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $394.37 billion, a PE ratio of 55.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $889.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $833.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $540.23 and a 12 month high of $923.83.

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 return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $890.07.

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.