Notis McConarty Edward Sells 115 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Notis McConarty Edward trimmed its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,143 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. Notis McConarty Edward’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,132,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,628 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,160,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares during the period. Curated Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 11.7% in the first quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 505 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the first quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 48,086 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $45,479,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $914.80 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $867.34 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $405.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.24, a PEG ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $952.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $971.37.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Daiwa Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on 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. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,067.19.

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.