WealthPLAN Partners LLC Reduces Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

WealthPLAN Partners LLC decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 23.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,689 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,580 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.4% of WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,136 shares of company stock worth $10,806,570. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $980.00 price objective (up from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $905.30.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $932.88 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $413.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.30, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $572.24 and a 12 month high of $962.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $893.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $852.53. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

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.