Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Christensen King & Associates Investment Services Inc.

Christensen King & Associates Investment Services Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 544 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 37 shares during the period. Christensen King & Associates Investment Services Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted 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 worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on COST. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $980.00 price objective (up from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $894.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was 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 directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at $20,560,344. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,224 shares of company stock worth $9,974,973 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $893.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $395.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $890.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $836.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $540.23 and a 12 month high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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