Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp trimmed its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,009 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 228 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 1.1% of UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $17,828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Corps Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the first quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.6% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the first quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,543,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the first quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 3,071 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,905,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the first quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,460 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,327,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price objective for the company. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,068.15.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ COST opened at $920.18 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $940.48 and a 200 day moving average of $970.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $407.81 billion, a PE ratio of 50.53, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $867.34 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23.

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 the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.15 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 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 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.56%.

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.