Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Decreases Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,060 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 537 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.7% of Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,745,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,737,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,518,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,144,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Horizon Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST traded down $3.12 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $960.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,240,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,934,416. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $902.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $867.47. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $582.83 and a 1 year high of $976.30. The company has a market cap of $425.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.99, a PEG ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $908.81.

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.