Factory Mutual Insurance Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Factory Mutual Insurance Co. reduced its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,200 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $25,886,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $2,505,000. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 1,191 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. American Trust grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. American Trust now owns 9,777 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,454,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 4,003 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,642,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 2,725.0% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 113 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded down $4.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $889.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,527,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,956,339. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $394.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.08, a PEG ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $882.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $827.34. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $540.23 and a 12-month high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $886.74.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,674 shares of company stock valued at $5,831,324 in the last ninety days. 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.