Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 37.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 150 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 90 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.8% during the third quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 5,787 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,130,000 after buying an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. GHE LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the third quarter. GHE LLC now owns 6,475 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,720,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Saturna Capital Corp boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.1% in the third quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 4,412 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,911,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 5.2% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 36,494 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,353,000 after purchasing an additional 1,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at approximately $722,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. This trade 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 is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $1.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $930.89. The stock had a trading volume of 460,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,922,915. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $412.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.11, a PEG ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $572.24 and a 1-year high of $962.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $895.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $855.44.

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 the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for 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%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $980.00 price objective (up previously from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently 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.