Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Ballast Advisors LLC

Ballast Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,110 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 20 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.6% of Ballast Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Ballast Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.3% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,719 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 1,037 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Blue Square Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Finally, Lesa Sroufe & Co bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $227,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $890.35 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $891.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $848.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $394.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.72, a PEG ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.80. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $562.01 and a 52-week high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.86 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $980.00 target price (up from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $905.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale

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.