FSM Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 411 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• FSM Wealth Advisors LLC has decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 14.6%, selling 411 shares, and now holds 2,400 shares valued at approximately $2.38 million.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup both lowered their target prices for Costco, now set at $1,050.00 and $990.00 respectively, with the company's stock currently rated as a "Moderate Buy".
• Costco reported an EPS of $5.87 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, while announcing a quarterly dividend of $1.30 to be paid on November 14th.

FSM Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 14.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,400 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 411 shares during the period. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,628 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,160,000 after buying an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC now owns 804 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Embree Financial Group increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. Embree Financial Group now owns 1,057 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on COST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $1,115.00 price objective for the company. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of COST opened at $940.99 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $867.34 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The firm's 50 day moving average is $946.70 and its 200-day moving average is $971.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $417.03 billion, a PE ratio of 51.69, a P/E/G ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.15 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 (DPR) is currently 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.

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