Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stake Reduced by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,299 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,210 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 0.6% of State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $52,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Trilogy Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $213,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the first quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the first quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 4,431 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,246,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 146.7% in the first quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,632 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,661,000 after acquiring an additional 2,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 6,547 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,797,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $894.57.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was 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 owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of COST stock opened at $891.22 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $540.23 and a 12 month high of $923.83. The company has a market cap of $395.11 billion, a PE ratio of 55.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $891.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $840.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the business posted $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

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.