Vicus Capital Sells 64 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Vicus Capital cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 509 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 64 shares during the quarter. Vicus Capital’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $451,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Advisory Corp MA purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth about $242,000. Sweeney & Michel LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 11.7% in the third quarter. Sweeney & Michel LLC now owns 3,152 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,804,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at $211,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.4% during the third quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 1,938 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,718,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maple Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc. now owns 61,642 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $54,647,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,560,344. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,224 shares of company stock valued at $9,974,973. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on COST shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $893.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $395.88 billion, a PE ratio of 53.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $540.23 and a 1 year high of $923.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $890.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $836.49. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

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.