Concentric Capital Strategies LP Lowers Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Concentric Capital Strategies LP decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,066 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 283 shares during the period. Concentric Capital Strategies LP’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 530.8% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 70,604 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $62,720,000 after purchasing an additional 59,411 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at $610,000. Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at $554,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $399,000. Finally, B&L Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,136,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $908.81.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $975.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $431.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $591.46 and a one year high of $976.50. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $907.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $872.68.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.00%.

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.