Port Capital LLC Sells 59 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Port Capital LLC decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 529 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 59 shares during the quarter. Port Capital LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.8% during the third quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. now owns 7,295 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,467,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 7,493 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,643,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266 shares during the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 36,695 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,195,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,559 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,358,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ingalls & Snyder LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 11.8% in the third quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 1,709 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,515,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $982.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $435.16 billion, a PE ratio of 59.27, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $591.46 and a 12 month high of $983.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $910.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $875.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.86 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. 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. Truist Financial cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $908.81.

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.