Cetera Investment Advisers Reduces Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Cetera Investment Advisers lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 149,900 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 8,377 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $127,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew 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 valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $886.52 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $393.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.93, a PEG ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $871.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $818.37. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $540.23 and a 12-month high of $923.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.86 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 16.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $883.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.