Verity & Verity LLC Sells 245 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Verity & Verity LLC lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,285 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 245 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 181.2% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,145 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,107,000 after purchasing an additional 5,893 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 13,450 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,924,000 after buying an additional 1,375 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $263,000. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.0% in the third quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 977 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $866,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,131 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,209,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $919.51 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $577.34 and a twelve month high of $962.00. The company has a market capitalization of $407.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $898.08 and a 200 day moving average of $860.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $908.81.

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.