Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Sells 871 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 12.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,266 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 871 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 3.6% of Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price objective for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $893.49 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $890.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $836.49. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $540.23 and a 1 year high of $923.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $395.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value 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 $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,224 shares of company stock valued at $9,974,973 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Profile

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.