Romano Brothers AND Company Reduces Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Romano Brothers AND Company lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,623 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 51 shares during the quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth approximately $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. 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 valued at $11,238,510 over the last quarter. 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 firm has a market cap of $395.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.92, a PEG ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $540.23 and a 52 week high of $923.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $891.03 and a 200-day moving average of $836.93.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price objective on the stock. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $894.57.

About Costco Wholesale

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.