Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 22.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,857 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,140 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,253,508,000 after buying an additional 1,473,248 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 287.3% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $710,802,000 after buying an additional 620,341 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,266,000 after buying an additional 618,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,916,118,000 after buying an additional 473,702 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were 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 directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $893.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $891.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $836.93. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $540.23 and a twelve month high of $923.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $395.85 billion, a PE ratio of 53.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $980.00 price objective (up previously from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.