Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stake Reduced by Bard Financial Services Inc.

Bard Financial Services Inc. lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,610 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,746,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % 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 Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $931.89.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of COST stock opened at $996.00 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $623.21 and a 12 month high of $997.71. The firm has a market cap of $441.30 billion, a PE ratio of 59.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $917.82 and a 200-day moving average of $880.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.