Thematics Asset Management Has $7.14 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Thematics Asset Management decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,052 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,863 shares during the quarter. Thematics Asset Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Shum Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,526,000. Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 4,153 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,682,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.5% in the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 3,133 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,777,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 182.1% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 409 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,252,274,000 after purchasing an additional 324,973 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST traded down $3.12 on Tuesday, hitting $960.89. The stock had a trading volume of 3,240,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,934,416. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $902.24 and a 200-day moving average of $867.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $582.83 and a 52-week high of $976.30. The company has a market capitalization of $425.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on COST. Loop Capital upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $908.81.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.