Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,734 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,489 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.6% of B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $20,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $50,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth approximately $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on COST shares. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $988.46.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $989.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $438.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $926.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $884.70. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $630.30 and a 52-week high of $1,007.80. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.86 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.77 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction 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 $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.