Silvant Capital Management LLC Has $13.14 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Silvant Capital Management LLC cut its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,821 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,006 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.6% of Silvant Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Silvant Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,408 shares in the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,494 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,025,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Schear Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 3,890 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,850,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Pullen Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $1,439,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $877.31 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $552.01 and a 52-week high of $923.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $892.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $844.03. The company has a market cap of $388.71 billion, a PE ratio of 52.95, a PEG ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. This 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 this link. In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on COST. Redburn Atlantic cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $894.57.

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.