Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Novare Capital Management LLC

Novare Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,743 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Novare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 23.8% during the third quarter. Granite Harbor Advisors Inc. now owns 359 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the third quarter. Elk River Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,479 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $15,495,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Oxler Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the third quarter. Oxler Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,310,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth approximately $156,000. Finally, Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth approximately $217,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded down $2.03 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $887.00. 459,126 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,948,918. The stock has a market cap of $393.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.20, a PEG ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $540.23 and a twelve month high of $923.83. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $882.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $828.01.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business 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 revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays raised their target price 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. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $886.74.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,560,344. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,560,344. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,824 shares of company stock valued at $4,260,493. 0.18% of the stock is owned by 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.