Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Has $7.61 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. cut its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,578 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 116 shares during the period. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 182.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,252,274,000 after purchasing an additional 324,973 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 320,108 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $283,782,000 after buying an additional 7,162 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,873,555 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,659,257,000 after buying an additional 49,280 shares during the period. Finally, Acorn Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Acorn Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 496 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $440,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of COST opened at $960.89 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $582.83 and a 52 week high of $976.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $425.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.99, a PEG ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $902.24 and a 200-day moving average of $867.47.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on COST. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $908.81.

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.