North Star Investment Management Corp. Lowers Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

North Star Investment Management Corp. lowered its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,374 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 54 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.7% of North Star Investment Management Corp.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. North Star Investment Management Corp.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth about $58,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $6.67 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $892.74. 385,374 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,914,069. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $892.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $847.07. The firm has a market cap of $395.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $560.13 and a 52-week high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its 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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business 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 firm posted $4.86 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities 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 will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $905.30.

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.