Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Matrix Trust Co

Matrix Trust Co decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,463 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 667 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of COST. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,916,118,000 after purchasing an additional 473,702 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,802,147,000 after purchasing an additional 285,533 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,650,562 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,102,941,000 after purchasing an additional 88,550 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,790,935 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,842,241,000 after purchasing an additional 81,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,307,363,000 after buying an additional 338,780 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of COST stock traded down $13.95 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $895.15. 559,525 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,952,516. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $396.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.55, a P/E/G ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $540.23 and a one year high of $923.83. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $879.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $825.10.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of 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. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $980.00 target price (up previously from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $886.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,097,624 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.