West Michigan Advisors LLC Trims Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

West Michigan Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 43.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 303 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 229 shares during the quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Redburn Atlantic cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $894.57.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $891.22 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $540.23 and a one year high of $923.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $891.35 and a 200 day moving average of $837.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $394.87 billion, a PE ratio of 53.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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