Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 21,969 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,453 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.6% of Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $21,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the first quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,293 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,169,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth about $139,000. Finally, Phillips Financial Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 23.9% during the first quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC now owns 384 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,063.88.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of COST stock opened at $922.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $938.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $968.77. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $871.71 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market cap of $408.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.15 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.56%.

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.