Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Cladis Investment Advisory LLC

Cladis Investment Advisory LLC cut its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,294 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 12 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.4% of Cladis Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Loop Capital raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $971.88 on Monday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $907.62 and its 200-day moving average is $872.68. The stock has a market cap of $430.61 billion, a PE ratio of 58.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $582.83 and a twelve month high of $976.30.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.