Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Madison Park Capital Advisors LLC

Madison Park Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,689 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 279 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.8% of Madison Park Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Madison Park Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Fermata Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,745,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Oak Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Perkins Coie Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,144,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $890.07.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $889.56 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $889.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $833.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $540.23 and a one year high of $923.83. The company has a market capitalization of $394.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale 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 value of $1,793,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,224 shares of company stock valued at $9,974,973. Company 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.