Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,457 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 370 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,248 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 287.3% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $710,802,000 after buying an additional 620,341 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,266,000 after acquiring an additional 618,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $285,618,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Truist Financial lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $919.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $898.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $860.94. The stock has a market cap of $407.41 billion, a PE ratio of 55.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $577.34 and a 1-year high of $962.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

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.