Brown Advisory Inc. Decreases Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Brown Advisory Inc. trimmed its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 519,535 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 25,725 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. owned about 0.12% of Costco Wholesale worth $514,308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. Amundi lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,190,424 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,151,785,000 after purchasing an additional 194,262 shares in the last quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the second quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,174 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,132,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Portland Global Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.9% in the second quarter. Portland Global Advisors LLC now owns 364 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Allium Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 13.2% during the second quarter. Allium Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,965 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,905,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Fund Management LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 24.1% during the second quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 324 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $895.85 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $397.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.20, a PEG ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $871.71 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $920.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $956.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 29th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,023.41.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at $6,410,343.68. This trade represents a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total value of $2,232,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,860,260. This represents a 54.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.