First Dallas Securities Inc. Sells 135 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

First Dallas Securities Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,153 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 135 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.2% of First Dallas Securities Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. First Dallas Securities Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,534,464,000 after acquiring an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,508,000 after buying an additional 1,473,248 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 287.3% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $710,802,000 after acquiring an additional 620,341 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,266,000 after purchasing an additional 618,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,307,363,000 after purchasing an additional 338,780 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $928.50.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.5 %

COST stock opened at $987.86 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $917.82 and its 200-day moving average is $880.63. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $618.76 and a twelve month high of $997.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $437.69 billion, a PE ratio of 59.62, a P/E/G ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last issued 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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.86 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 over the last quarter. Corporate 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.