Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC

MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,401 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 57 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 3.1% of MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $912.42 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $404.37 billion, a PE ratio of 50.11, a PEG ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $941.47 and a 200 day moving average of $971.27. 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.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal 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 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 is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Daiwa Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,068.15.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,410,343.68. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.