Zevin Asset Management LLC Sells 327 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Zevin Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,637 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 327 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 3.9% of Zevin Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Zevin Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $25,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COST. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.8% during the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,133,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 66.9% in the third quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 3,088 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,738,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 52.1% in the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,499,000 after buying an additional 2,620 shares during the period. Finally, Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at $6,424,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital boosted their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $905.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $907.07 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $401.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.74, a PEG ratio of 5.60 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. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $897.62 and its 200 day moving average is $859.62. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $572.24 and a 12 month high of $962.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

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.