Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Mizuho Markets Americas LLC

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC reduced its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,123 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 929 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $907.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $401.90 billion, a PE ratio of 54.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.80. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $897.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $858.66. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $572.24 and a 12-month high of $962.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $905.30.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

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 transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % 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 Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

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.