Two Sigma Advisers LP lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 47.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 325,300 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 294,200 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned 0.07% of Costco Wholesale worth $288,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd now owns 45,288 shares of the retailer's stock worth $40,149,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc now owns 11,755 shares of the retailer's stock worth $10,421,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 40.5% in the 3rd quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 694 shares of the retailer's stock worth $615,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 53,797 shares of the retailer's stock worth $47,693,000 after acquiring an additional 9,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 210,172 shares of the retailer's stock worth $186,322,000 after acquiring an additional 5,368 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.
COST opened at $982.26 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $913.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $876.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $603.86 and a twelve month high of $991.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $435.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.28, a PEG ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 0.82.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.
A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $950.00 price target on the stock. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $928.50.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on COST
In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.
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.
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