Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC Sells 32 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,778 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 32 shares during the quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,745,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the third quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,144,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% during the third quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST opened at $886.77 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $540.23 and a 52-week high of $923.83. The company has a 50 day moving average of $889.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $835.23. The company has a market cap of $393.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.94, a P/E/G ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,224 shares of company stock valued at $9,974,973 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets reissued 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. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $890.07.

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.