Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Widmann Financial Services Inc.

Widmann Financial Services Inc. decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 410 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Encompass More Asset Management acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at $423,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 21.2% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 428,956 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $380,278,000 after purchasing an additional 75,023 shares during the last quarter. Worldly Partners Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the third quarter. Worldly Partners Management LLC now owns 90,416 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $80,156,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 136,363 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $120,888,000 after purchasing an additional 2,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Infusive Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,486,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $971.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $430.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $582.83 and a 12-month high of $976.30. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $907.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $871.42.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.86 EPS. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on COST shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.