Vantage Investment Partners LLC Sells 690 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Vantage Investment Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,136 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 690 shares during the period. Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,099,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,745,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Oak Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Perkins Coie Trust Co increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,144,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.2 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $932.88 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $572.24 and a one year high of $962.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $413.33 billion, a PE ratio of 56.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s fifty day moving average is $893.49 and its 200 day moving average is $852.53.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 in the prior year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was 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 approximately $9,155,409.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $20,015,745. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,136 shares of company stock valued at $10,806,570. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $980.00 target price (up from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.