Alpha Cubed Investments LLC Reduces Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC decreased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,376 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,500 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.2% of Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $26,043,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at $235,000. Callan Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 609.8% during the third quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 3,698 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,278,000 after purchasing an additional 3,177 shares in the last quarter. Exeter Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the third quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 719 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.9% during the third quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 797 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.1% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 473 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $873.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $387.29 billion, a PE ratio of 54.13, a P/E/G ratio of 5.34 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $875.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $822.49. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during 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%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,174 shares of company stock worth $7,097,624 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $883.04.

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.