Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Stock Sold by Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,497 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,834 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $38,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 107.7% in the 3rd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 27 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Burk Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, John Boyer Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Costco Wholesale

Here are the key news stories impacting Costco Wholesale this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Costco declared a $30-per-share special cash dividend, totaling about $13.3 billion, payable December 4 to shareholders of record November 24. The board also reauthorized a $4 billion share-repurchase program. The payout is a substantial one-time return of capital; the buyback provides ongoing flexibility to return cash and support per-share results. Costco dividend and repurchase announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Costco’s digital sales reportedly rose 22.5% in October, outpacing store comparable sales, while a separate report says it overtook Kroger in a grocery-market-share ranking. The growth suggests its online channels and membership model are drawing more spending, although the articles do not establish how much of that is already reflected in the stock. Costco digital sales report Costco grocery-share report
• Neutral Sentiment: Tumwater’s council approved a development agreement for a new Costco store. It may support local expansion, but the article provides no financial details to indicate a material near-term effect on company results. Tumwater Costco development agreement
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Broker downgraded Costco from “buy” to “hold” and set a $1,050 price target, below the referenced share price. The higher target versus its prior estimate softens the message, but the downgrade could weigh on sentiment. Freedom Broker rating information

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,144.00 to $1,143.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 28th. HSBC upgraded Costco Wholesale to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Robert W. Baird set a $1,175.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,091.84.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.93, for a total transaction of $2,015,046.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,134 shares in the company, valued at $6,534,244.62. The trade was a 23.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $958.21, for a total value of $1,054,031.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,094 shares in the company, valued at $2,964,701.74. The trade was a 26.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $1,066.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $472.44 billion, a PE ratio of 51.36, a PEG ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50-day moving average is $957.28 and its 200-day moving average is $973.36. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $844.06 and a fifty-two week high of $1,096.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The retailer reported $6.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $95.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.97 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.04% and a return on equity of 27.60%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.87 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 22.70 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be issued a $30.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 24th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.32%.

Costco Wholesale Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates membership-based warehouse clubs that offer a broad selection of merchandise at generally low prices. Its products include groceries, fresh foods, appliances, electronics, apparel, furniture, and household goods, as well as its Kirkland Signature private-label line. The company also provides services such as gasoline stations, pharmacies, optical and hearing-aid centers, food courts, and travel offerings. Costco serves members through warehouses and online channels.