Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Decreases Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,678 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,961 shares during the quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 635.7% in the second quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,206 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. BTIG Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,125.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $991.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total value of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at $6,410,343.68. This trade represents a 28.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $860.39 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $381.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.08, a PEG ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $914.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $947.83. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $844.06 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 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 posted $4.04 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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.