Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by William Allan Corp

William Allan Corp lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,940 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 4.6% of William Allan Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. William Allan Corp’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Corps Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,543,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 3,071 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,905,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,460 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,327,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $929.85 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.34 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $944.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $971.91. The firm has a market cap of $412.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.06, a PEG ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at $6,410,343.68. This trade represents a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,068.15.

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.