Riverwater Partners LLC Sells 15 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Riverwater Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 850 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 15 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $89,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 5,168 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,787,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 834 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 38.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 1,053 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $771,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,028 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,710,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock opened at $893.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $395.85 billion, a PE ratio of 53.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $891.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $836.93. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The business 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.86 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $894.57.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.