Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 280,188 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,921 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned 0.06% of Costco Wholesale worth $277,603,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,628 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,160,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 89.7% during the first quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 550 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, LVZ Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the first quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 935 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $884,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ COST opened at $936.11 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $948.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $971.70. 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 one year low of $867.34 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market cap of $414.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.41, a PEG ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 28.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered their target price 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.