Mason Investment Advisory Services Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Mason Investment Advisory Services Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 27.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 420 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 162 shares during the quarter. Mason Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. 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 note on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $908.81.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value 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 approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $964.01 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $427.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.18, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $901.18 and a 200 day moving average of $864.82. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $582.83 and a twelve month high of $976.30.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.