Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.

GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. reduced its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,479 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 21 shares during the quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,628 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,160,000 after buying an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,530 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,448,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 147,961 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $139,936,000 after buying an additional 10,639 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 $930.01 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $952.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $972.00. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $867.34 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market cap of $412.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.07, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.15 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,066.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.