Greenbrier Partners Capital Management LLC Sells 295 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Greenbrier Partners Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 224,352 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 295 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 15.9% of Greenbrier Partners Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Greenbrier Partners Capital Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Costco Wholesale worth $209,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,489,574,000 after buying an additional 32,074 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.8% during the third quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at approximately $20,056,000. Hudson Value Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,133,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 66.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 3,088 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,738,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price objective on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $961.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $426.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.03, a P/E/G ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $582.83 and a 1 year high of $976.30. The company’s fifty day moving average is $906.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $870.06.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.86 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.