Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. Sells 163 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 10.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,382 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 163 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 0.0% of Meridiem Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Strong Tower Advisory Services boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.8% in the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 52.1% in the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,620 shares during the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at about $6,424,000. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.8% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,533 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,003,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of COST stock opened at $889.56 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $889.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $833.05. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $540.23 and a 12-month high of $923.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $394.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $890.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,224 shares of company stock valued at $9,974,973 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.