Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Sage Capital Advisors llc

Sage Capital Advisors llc cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 35.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,371 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,424 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.4% of Sage Capital Advisors llc’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Sage Capital Advisors llc’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,897,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Luminist Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.4% in the first quarter. Luminist Capital LLC now owns 128 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Birchbrook Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Birchbrook Inc. now owns 456 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.4% in the second quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 159 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Wagner Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.4% during the second quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hobbs Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 4.4% during the second quarter. Hobbs Wealth Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock opened at $860.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $914.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $947.83. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $844.06 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The company has a market capitalization of $381.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.08, a P/E/G ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.07. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 29.35%. The business had revenue of $67.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.04 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total value of $2,232,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,860,260. The trade was a 54.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. This represents a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,218.00 to $1,171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $991.39.

Costco Wholesale 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.